Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Colonna Trajana (Trajan's Column)

Colonna Trajana (Trajan's Column) by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Production date
circa 1750
Medium
etching
Dimensions
725 x 510 mm
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

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