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Original fileThermen van Caracalla
About This Work
This print depicts the monumental remains of the ancient Roman baths, featuring three towering arches overgrown with wild vegetation. Small figures in contemporary dress wander through the debris in the foreground, serving as a scale to emphasize the enormous size of the structures. Letter 'A' marks on the piers indicate the original locations of granite columns that were later removed.
Engraved by Aegidius Sadeler while serving as the court artist for Rudolf II in Prague, this work reflects the late Renaissance fascination with the 'prisca sapientia' (ancient wisdom) embodied in Roman ruins. These images functioned as memento mori, contemplating the inevitable decay of material power while celebrating the enduring ingenuity of classical architecture.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Vestigij d'una parte di dentro delle terme d' Antonino caracala qual fu adornata di grandissime et belle colonne di granitto orientalle con le sue membri intagliati con bella diligentia et li muri furono incrustati di diverse pietre di mischi et marmori come hoggi se ne vede ancho ne uestigij, et non molti annj sono fu donato da Papa Pio IIII una di dette colonne al gran Duca quale fu da lui mandata in Fiorenza Il luoco doue erano dette colonne si uede a questo segno A. Marco Sadeler excud. 19
Translation
Vestiges of a part of the interior of the Baths of Antoninus Caracalla which was adorned with very large and beautiful columns of oriental granite with their members carved with beautiful diligence and the walls were encrusted with various stones of mixed colors and marbles as one still sees today in the ruins, and not many years ago one of said columns was given by Pope Pius IV to the Grand Duke, which was sent by him to Florence. The place where said columns were is seen at this mark A. Marco Sadeler excud. 19
Connected Texts
Aegidius Sadeler
Sadeler was the principal engraver at the court of Rudolf II in Prague, a major center for late Renaissance Hermeticism and alchemy.
Vestigi delle antichità di Roma (1606)
This print is part of a famous series of engravings documenting Roman ruins that influenced European architectural and philosophical thought.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 153 mm x width 255 mm
architectural
Linked Data
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