Demonstration panel showing technique for raising travertine and marble blocks for the construction of the tomb of Cecilia Metella, Rome, from "Le Antichità Romane"
In this print, the eighteenth-century artist and antiquarian Piranesi illustrates various machines and methods used in construction during Roman times. Foregrounded in this image are metal hooks, ropes, and timber abutment used in the lifting of heavy travertine and marble blocks. In three suspended presentation scrolls in the background, he provides further context for how these tools are used as part of hoisting procedures. Each element in the print is labeled with either a letter or a number, referring to the legend below containing written explanations.
Artwork Details
- Title: Demonstration panel showing technique for raising travertine and marble blocks for the construction of the tomb of Cecilia Metella, Rome, from "Le Antichità Romane"
- Series/Portfolio: Le Antichità Romane
- Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, Mogliano Veneto 1720–1778 Rome)
- Date: 1756
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: Sheet: 20 1/2 x 28 3/8 in. (52 x 72 cm)
Plate: 18 5/16 x 20 3/8 in. (46.5 x 51.7 cm) - Classifications: Prints, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
- Object Number: 2012.136.862.4
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
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Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1740s–60s
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
ca. 1761
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1757, 1761
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1750
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
ca. 1758
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