Ancient Circus of Mars with Neighboring Monuments Viewed at the Via Appia

Date1756

MediumEtching

Credit LineMuseum purchase

DimensionsMat: 28 × 40 in. (71.1 × 101.6 cm) Image: 15 5/8 × 23 1/2 in. (39.7 × 59.7 cm)

Object number2005.002.002

Label TextThis etching, which served as the frontispiece of the third volume of Le Antichità Romane, reveals Piranesi’s fantastical reconstruction of the Circus Maximus, one of the most ancient sites in Rome. The circus, which lay in a low valley between the Palatine and the Aventine Hills, had been used for chariot races since at least the fourth century BC. At the top of the image, intricate imperial residences piled atop the Palatine Hill overlook the racetrack below. The spina, or central barrier of the racetrack, is dotted with a multitude of statues and elaborate architectural elements, which largely reflect what was known about the Circus Maximus. One of the obelisks found there had been erected by Emperor Augustus in 10 BC. Early modern pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) ordered the excavation and restoration of the obelisk, which was then erected in the Piazza del Popolo to mark the entry point of the city for pilgrims and other travelers. The objects in the foreground—sarcophagi, altars, funerary urns, statues, etc.—turn the viewer’s attention to the tombs and funerary monuments from the ancient city, the subject of the volume. While this image is shown as a stand-alone print, Piranesi designed it to function as an integral part of a book that conveyed his knowledge of antiquity and his theoretical beliefs as an architect. Piranesi’s simultaneous reliance on the archaeological record and his imaginative faculties as designer in his re-creation of the ancient stadium is itself a powerful demonstration of his argument.
Exhibition HistoryDiscovering Rome: Maps and Monuments of the Eternal City, Michael C. Carlos Museum, September 16, 2006 - January 14, 2007
Old Masters: Highlights of the Works on Paper Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 15 - December 6, 2009
Antichità, Teatro, Magnificenza: Renaissance and Baroque Images of Rome, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 24 - November 17, 2013
Piranesi's Pages: Rome in Books and Prints, 1756-1776, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 13 - April 4, 2021
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, September - November 2009.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 140.
Antichita, Teatro, Magnificenza (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2013), 61 (checklist only).

ProvenancePurchased by MCCM from Gallery 539, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Catalogue raisonnéF.287

Status

Not on view

Collections