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.
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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.