A Reconstruction of the Base of the Column Rostrata
before 1704
Medium
Brush and gray ink and gray wash, pen and black and brown ink, red chalk
Dimensions
13 1/16 x 8 1/16 in. (33.2 x 20.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Helen and János Scholz, 1958
Accession Number
58.648.2(38)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the Drawings and Prints department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Jan Goeree's *A Reconstruction of the Base of the Column Rostrata (before 1704) offers a meticulous glimpse into 17th-century antiquarian fascination with ancient Rome. Goeree, a Dutch artist architect, and engraver in the late Baroque era, specialized in architectural studies and classical reconstructions. This sheet depicts the base of the Columna Rostrata, a real Roman monument from 260 BCE honoring naval victor Gaius Duilius during the First Punic War. Adorned with ships' prows (rostra) symbolizing captured Carthaginian vessels, the column embodied Roman triumph; Goeree's drawing revives its intricate reliefs for modern eyes. Crafted in a virtuoso mix of media—brush and gray ink with gray wash for atmospheric depth, pen in black and brown ink for precise lines, and red chalk for subtle highlights—this 13 1/16 x 8 1/16-inch work exemplifies the technical precision of period draftsmen. Such mixed techniques allowed Goeree to convey stone textures, shadows, and three-dimensional form, bridging art and scholarship. Gifted to the Met in 1958 by Helen and János Scholz, it reflects the era's growing obsession with accurate classical revival, influencing neoclassical architecture and enriching our understanding of how Europeans reimagined antiquity.
About the Artist
Jan Goeree · 1670–1731
Comment on works: Painter; Draughtsman; Engraver; History; Subjects in landscapes