Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Septizodium
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 18 7/8 x 13 in. (48 x 33 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(1.48)
Tags
About this artwork
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Septizodium" by Anonymous|Antonio Lafreri, created in 1556, is executed in etching and engraving. This prints belongs to the Metropolitan Museum's Drawings and Prints collection. The work measures sheet: 18 7/8 x 13 in. (48 x 33 cm). The artwork entered the museum's collection through harris brisbane dick fund, 1941.
Art Historical Context
Step into the grandeur of ancient Rome through *Speculum Romanae Magnificent: The Septizodium a captivating 1556 print attributed to Antonio Lafreri and anonymous collaborators. This etching and engraving vividly captures the Septizodium, a lavish nymphaeum and fountain built by Emperor Septimius Severus around 203 AD on Rome's Palatine Hill.orned with tiers of columns and arches, it symbolized imperial splendor at the triumphal route's end, welcoming visitors with cascading water and ornate architecture—elements beautifully rendered here in intricate lines. Part of Lafreri's renowned *Specul...
About the Artist
Anonymous|Antonio Lafreri
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...