The Ruins of the Colosseum
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 9.4 × 12.9 cm (3 11/16 × 5 1/16 in.) sheet: 15.1 × 21.5 cm (5 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Andrée and Jonathan Bober
Accession Number
2022.189.1
Art Historical Context
Step into the shadowed grandeur of ancient Rome with Giovanni Battista Mercati *The Ruins of the Colum* (1629), a delicate etching that captures the enduring majesty of the Flavian Amphitheater. Created during the Baroque era, when Rome's ancient monuments inspired artists and pilgrims alike, this print depicts the Colosseum's weathered arches and crumbling tiers, evoking a poignant blend of imperial glory and the passage of time. Mercati, a skilled Italian engraver known for his precise views of the Eternal City, contributed to the popular genre of *vedute*—topographical prints that preserved...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Mercati · 1591–1645
Giovanni Battista Mercati (1591–1645) was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver whose career exemplified the vibrant artistic culture of 17th-century Italy, particularly in Rome and his native Tuscany. Baptized on October 1, 1591, in Borgo San Sepolcro (Sansepolcro), Tuscany, Mercati moved to Rome to pursue greater opportunities in the papal capital, where he became a member of the prestigious A...