Porta Pia, elevation (recto) Porta Pia, window, elevation; section (verso)
early to mid-16th century
Medium
Dark brown ink, black chalk, and incised lines
Dimensions
sheet: 21 15/16 x 16 7/16 in. (55.8 x 41.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Janos Scholz and Anne Bigelow Scholz, in memory of Flying Officer Walter Bigelow Rosen, RCAF, 1949
Accession Number
49.92.56
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite 16th-century drawing, created anonymously by a French artist, captures detailed elevations of Rome's Porta Pia gate—on the recto, a full facade view, and on the verso, a window elevation and section. Dating to the early to mid-1500s, it reflects the era's fascination with Italian Renaissance architecture among Northern European draftsmen, who traveled to study classical and contemporary designs. Porta Pia, a monumental city gate, symbolized Rome's grandeur, and such precise renderings served as vital records for architects and scholars. Executed in dark brown ink, black chalk, ...