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Italy in Britain

Print
1999 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Neil Pittaway is a young English artist whose work reflects a kind of mania to do with gothic revival architecture, urban-ness, satire, illustration and narrative. Relating to existing works in the museum collection, his prints incorporate elements of famous 19th-century satirists such as Gillray and Cruikshank, woven into a complex and agoraphobic maze of buildings which echo the monumental perspectives of the18th-century architectural draughtsman, Piranesi and the mazes and impossible spaces of the 20th-century Duch artist M.C. Escher, evoking many of the values and visual qualities which make up the museum's, and indeed, London's, past.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleItaly in Britain (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Etching on paper
Brief description
'Italy in Britain', etching on paper, Neil Pittaway, Great Britain, 1999
Physical description
Black and white image of fantastic architecture-scape, somewhat suggesting Victorian railway stations on a Piranesian scale
Dimensions
  • Plate height: 44.8cm
  • Plate width: 60.5cm
Production typeLimited edition
Copy number
10/50
Marks and inscriptions
  • 10/50 (maker's mark; below lower margin of plate on left; pencil)
  • Neil Pittaway 1999 (Signature; date; below lower margin of plate on right; pencil)
  • 'Italy in Britain' (picture title; below lower margin of plate.; pencil)
Credit line
Given by the artist
Subjects depicted
Summary
Neil Pittaway is a young English artist whose work reflects a kind of mania to do with gothic revival architecture, urban-ness, satire, illustration and narrative. Relating to existing works in the museum collection, his prints incorporate elements of famous 19th-century satirists such as Gillray and Cruikshank, woven into a complex and agoraphobic maze of buildings which echo the monumental perspectives of the18th-century architectural draughtsman, Piranesi and the mazes and impossible spaces of the 20th-century Duch artist M.C. Escher, evoking many of the values and visual qualities which make up the museum's, and indeed, London's, past.
Collection
Accession number
E.864-2003

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Record createdDecember 4, 2003
Record URL
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