Arch of Constantine in Rome, plate 9 from Some Views of Triumphal Arches and other monuments
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 13 × 26 cm (5 1/8 × 10 1/4 in.); Sheet: 34.3 × 46.4 cm (13 9/16 × 18 5/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
131469
Art Historical Context
Step into the grandeur of ancient Rome through Giovanni Battista Piranesi's masterful etching, *Arch of Constantine in Rome*, plate 9 from his 1748 series *Some Views of Triumphal Ar and other monuments*. This yet evocative print, measuring just 13 × 26 cm on its plate, captures the iconic triumphal erected in 315 AD celebrate Emperor Constantine's victory Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge—a pivotal moment that shaped early Christianity's rise in the empire. Piranesi a Venetian-born architect and engraver, immortalized Rome's ruins during the Enlightenment era, blending neoclassical precision wi...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Piranesi · 1720–1778
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) was an Italian printmaker, architect, and antiquarian whose visionary etchings of Rome and imaginary prisons revolutionized architectural representation and profoundly influenced both Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Piranesi stands as one of the most important printmakers of the eighteenth century, fundamentally shaping European perceptions of ancient Rome an...