Artwork Information

This etching shows the cyclopean foundations of the Theatre of Marcellus, built by Emperor Augustus in 13 BC. Largely built over during Middle Ages but sufficiently well known amongst Renaissance artists, as well as Piranesi, it was the most important and influential edifice of its kind. Its revetments and interlocking masonry set upon a forest of piles are reminiscent of the stone marine defences erected against the forces of the Adriatic Sea, with which Piranesi was familiar from his time as an apprentice in Venice.