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Original fileTheater van Marcellus
About This Work
The print shows the curved exterior of the ancient theater, featuring tiers of Doric and Ionic columns that have been incorporated into a later residential palace. Life continues around the monument, with various figures on foot and horseback traversing the dusty street in the foreground. Detailed masonry and architectural decay are visible, highlighting the transition from classical grandeur to early modern utility.
Aegidius Sadeler was a prominent engraver at the court of Rudolf II in Prague, a center for late Renaissance humanism and esotericism. This work belongs to a tradition of 'vedute' that allowed Northern European scholars and Neoplatonists to study the proportions and 'prisca' (ancient) architectural forms of Rome, which were believed to reflect cosmic harmonies.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Vestigij del Theatro che fu edificato da Augusto in nome di Marcello suo nipote quale fu di bellis^ma maniera d'architettura, secondo li uestigij che ui si uedono parte intieri, e parte consumati dal fuoco et dal tempo fu questo Theatro grande e spatioso dentro di quello poteuano stare a uedere i giochi, che iui si faceuano LXXX milia persone sopra le sue rouine e' edificato il palazzo de Signori Sauelli, e oggidi si chiama uolgarmente quella contrada piazza montanara. Marco Sadler excudit 36
Translation
Traces of the Theater that was built by Augustus in the name of Marcellus his nephew, which was of the most beautiful style of architecture, according to the traces that can be seen there, partly whole and partly consumed by fire and by time. This theater was large and spacious; inside of it eighty thousand people could stand to watch the games that were held there. Upon its ruins the palace of the Savelli lords is built, and today that district is commonly called Piazza Montanara. Marco Sadler excudit 36
Connected Texts
Vitruvius
The print documents the classical orders (Doric and Ionic) that Vitruvius codified, which were central to the Renaissance understanding of sacred geometry and architectural harmony.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 157 mm x width 268 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.