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The image is an etching of a ruinous arch, slightly off-center, with intricate line work to depict its structure. The horizon is above the arch, showing vegetation and rugged terrain in the distance. The etching displays textures representing flora and stone, with shadows and depth created by dense hatching. The sky is light with airy cross-hatching. The color palette is black on off-white paper. Foliage and rough ground are detailed near the arch, and ancient stonework and rocky formations extend into the landscape beyond.
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The image is an etching of a ruinous arch, slightly off-center, with intricate line work to depict its structure. The horizon is above the arch, showing vegetation and rugged terrain in the distance. The etching displays textures representing flora and stone, with shadows and depth created by dense hatching. The sky is light with airy cross-hatching. The color palette is black on off-white paper. Foliage and rough ground are detailed near the arch, and ancient stonework and rocky formations extend into the landscape beyond.

National Gallery of Art · Portfolio

Arco di Pola in Istria

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Date
1748
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 12.8 x 26.3 cm (5 1/16 x 10 3/8 in.) sheet: 37.2 x 52.8 cm (14 5/8 x 20 13/16 in.)
Classification
Portfolio · Print
Accession number
2002.66.1.25
Credit line
Edward E. MacCrone Fund and the Eugene L. and Marie-Louise Garbáty Fund
Time span
1726 to 1750
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Series
Antichità romane de'tempi della repubblica

Subjects and terms

  • architecture
  • Venetian
  • Ruins
  • Tree
  • Figures
  • Writing
Provenance

(sale, Sotheby's London, 21 March 1972, lots 142 and 142, included in a two-volume bound copy of _Le Magnificenze di Roma_); (Herman Shickman Gallery, New York); (sale, Sotheby's New York, 1 November 2001, the volumes broken up and sold as individual sets, this lot 135); (Harris Schrank, New York); purchased 2002 by NGA.

NGA object ID 125683. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.