Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Vatican Obelisk
16th century
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 19 5/16 x 11 5/8 in. (49 x 29.5 cm) mount: 22 1/8 x 16 3/4 in. (56.2 x 42.6 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(1.111)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Vatican Obelisk*, a captivating 16th-century engraving from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection. Part of Antonio Lafreri's influential *Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae*—Latin for "Mirror of Roman Magnificence"—this print captures the iconic Vatican Obelisk, an ancient Egyptian monument that symbolized Rome's enduring grandeur. Lafreri, a prominent publisher in Renaissance Rome, assembled this celebrated series of over 500 engravings, allowing viewers across Europe to marvel at the city's ancient wonders without leavin...
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...