Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Roman Naval Battle
16th century
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 13 9/16 x 19 1/8 in. (34.5 x 48.5 cm) plate: 12 3/8 x 18 1/8 in. (31.5 x 46 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941
Accession Number
41.72(1.72)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, where 16th-century engraving *Speculum Romanae Magnificent: Roman Naval Battle*, the epic clash of ancient Roman naval forces. Part of the renowned *Speculum Romanae Magniae* ("Mirror of Roman Magnific") series compiled by publisher Antonio Lafreri, exemplifies Renaissance fascination with Rome's imperial past. These prints, produced in Rome from the 1540s onward, celebrated the city's ruins, triumphs, and legends, serving as visual "mirrors" for scholars, travelers, and collectors across Europe. The scene bursts with...
About the Artist
Anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...