Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Colonna Trajana (Trajan's Column)

Artwork Detail
Trajan's Column, erected to celebrate the Emperor's victories in Dacia, was constructed of Parian marble and stood about 125 ft high. Sixtus V ordered excavations to expose the base of the column and had steps constructed which ascended down to it. By 1740, many antiquities were reduced to being objects of curiosity in the itineraries of pilgrims to the Holy City, until Piranesi's Views of Rome drew attention once more to their spectacular architectural qualities. (exhibition label, 2004)
- Title
- Colonna Trajana (Trajan's Column)
- Artist/creator
- Production date
- circa 1750
- Medium
- etching
- Dimensions
- 725 x 510 mm
- Inscription
- Piranesi Fecit (below image l.r.)
- Credit line
- Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, bequest of Dr Walter Auburn, 1982
- Accession no
- M1982/1/4/30
- Copyright
- No known copyright restrictions
- Department
- International Art
- Display status
- Not on display
If you’re interested in reproducing this artwork, you can enquire here.