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About This Work
The engraving depicts the Roman Pantheon as it appeared in the early 17th century, with vegetation growing on its brick walls and small figures populating the piazza for scale. The perspective highlights the building's immense scale and its unique circular geometry compared to other ancient ruins. The text below details its history as a temple to 'all the gods' and its conversion into a Christian church.
As a temple dedicated to all deities, the Pantheon served as a key architectural symbol for the Hermetic and Neoplatonic search for a universal 'prisca theologia' (ancient theology). Its spherical proportions were regarded by Renaissance natural philosophers as a physical representation of the cosmic order and the perfection of the divine mind.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Vestigij del Panteone di M. Agrippa, qual fu un Tempio che lui edificò a Gioue Vltore, e l'chiamo Panteone, perche il dedico dapoi di Gioue, a tutti i Dei, Questo edificio fu di forma circolare con un belliss.mo portico, ornato di gran colonne, d'opera corinthia, et di molti adornamenti et intagli massimamente nella parte di dentro, oggidì si ritroua questo edificio solo intiero di quanti Tempii antichi furono in Roma e si chiama volgarmente Sa. Maria Rotonda. Marco Sadeler excudit. 33
Translation
Vestiges of the Pantheon of M. Agrippa, which was a Temple that he built to Jupiter the Avenger, and he called it Pantheon, because he later dedicated it not only to Jupiter, but to all the Gods. This building was of circular form with a most beautiful portico, ornamented with great columns, of Corinthian workmanship, and with many adornments and carvings, especially in the interior part; today this building is found to be the only one entire of all the ancient Temples that were in Rome, and it is commonly called St. Mary of the Rotunda. Marco Sadeler excudit. 33
Connected Texts
Leon Battista Alberti
In 'De re aedificatoria', Alberti champions the circular form of the Pantheon as the most natural and divine shape for a temple, reflecting Neoplatonic ideals of cosmic harmony.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 160 mm x width 270 mm
architectural
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.