Artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, October 4, 1720–November 9, 1778)
Title Arch of Trajan in Ancona (Arco di Traiano in Ancona)
Plate Number Plate 29
Series Roman Antiquities from the Period of the Republic and the First Emperors
Date 1743–1748
Medium Etching on paper
Dimensions Image: 5 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (13.3 x 27 cm)
Plate: 5 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (13.3 x 27 cm)
Sheet: 13 x 19 5/8 in. (33 x 49.8 cm)
Credit Line Collection of Diether Thimme, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 98.280.17
About this Work
"Nerva's Forum" was planned as a transitional space leading from the older Forum of Augustus to Emperor Vespasian's new forum, dedicated in A.D. 71. Work was finally completed in the reign of Nerva, about A.D. 96. In these smaller views of Roman antiquities, Giovanni Battista Piranesi displayed all of his genius as a printmaker. Although tiny, the images still convey the majestic scale of these ruins and their opulent detail. The drama of these prints demonstrates the impact of Piranesi's collaboration with stage designers as well as the inherently theatrical quality of Roman public spaces.Piranesi's first portfolio of twenty-five views was reissued about 1756 with a new title: Some views of Triumphal Arches and Other Monuments...The new title expressed Piranesi's interest in these arches as well as the Roman propensity for such monumental, celebratory constructions. Trajan, a great military commander, inspired several triumphal arches commemorating his victories. The arch in Ancona, a seaport town on the Adriatic, resembles others in Rome and Benevento built about 114-116 AD. With typical drama, Piranesi chose a low viewpoint at the water's edge to make the arch loom majestically, while ships' pennants flutter like the flags of Trajan's victorious army on parade.
