Pinaculu Termar (sic), from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman Antiquity

Anonymous, Italian, 16th century|Monogrammist G.A. & the Caltrop

Plate ca. 1530–50 · Engraving · Drawings and Prints

Perspectival cross section of a building referred to as ‘Pinaculu Termar’. The building has a circular floor plan and consists of a central round nave surrounded by an ambulatory. The coffered ceiling is interrupted at top by an oculus. While it has been suggested that the building may represent the Church of Santa Costanza in Rome, the interior and exterior features of the building depicted in this print differ too much, to follow this identification. The print is part of a group of architectural prints depicting buildings from Roman Antiquity, ranging from triumphal arches to bath houses, temples and palaces in Italy, France and Spain. Some of the buildings have been artificially reconstructed based on Medieval descriptions, while others are depicted in their ruinous states. The plates are known in several (uncatalogued) states, and have undergone minor changes over time. Several titles of buildings have been changed, and the plates have been cropped as a result of plate cracks and oxidation. Most copper plates for this series have been engraved on both sides. This print is taken from the same plate as the 'Aerarii Publici Rome'.

Artist

Anonymous, Italian, 16th century|Monogrammist G.A. & the Caltrop

Date

Plate ca. 1530–50

Medium

Engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Edward Pearce Casey Fund and Carolyn H. Specht Gift, 2016