
Read the visual description
The image shows a view from a slightly elevated point of a grand architectural structure resembling a triumphal arch. The arch is central, with intricate details and lush vegetation intertwined with the stonework. The scene suggests a horizon with a hill or cityscape in the distance, marked by a distant building's dome above wall-like structures. The style is an etching with meticulous lines creating texture and depth, seen in shadows and ship sails. The color palette is monochromatic, using dark and light contrast to define forms and depth. Figures and cargo silhouette near the arch and docks where tall ships are moored, with masts reaching into the sky against the light background.
National Gallery of Art · Portfolio
Arco di Trajoano in Ancona
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
- Date
- 1748
- Medium
- etching on laid paper
- Dimensions
- plate: 13.5 x 27.2 cm (5 5/16 x 10 11/16 in.) plate: 37.5 x 33 cm (14 3/4 x 13 in.)
- Classification
- Portfolio · Print
- Accession number
- 2002.66.1.29
- Credit line
- Edward E. MacCrone Fund and the Eugene L. and Marie-Louise Garbáty Fund
- Time span
- 1726 to 1750
- Department
- CG-E
Portfolio and series
- Series
- Antichità romane de'tempi della repubblica
Subjects and terms
- architecture
- Venetian
- Boat
- Building
- Figures
- Wall
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 125687. 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.