Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Septizodium
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 18 7/8 x 13 in. (48 x 33 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941
Accession Number
41.72(1.48)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Septizodium" by Anonymous|Antonio Lafreri, created in 1556, is executed in etching and engraving. This prints belongs to the Metropolitan Museum's Drawings and Prints collection. The work measures sheet: 18 7/8 x 13 in. (48 x 33 cm). The artwork entered the museum's collection through harris brisbane dick fund, 1941.
Art Historical Context
Step into the grandeur of ancient Rome through *Speculum Romanae Magnificent: The Septizodium a captivating 1556 print attributed to Antonio Lafreri and anonymous collaborators. This etching and engraving vividly captures the Septizodium, a lavish nymphaeum and fountain built by Emperor Septimius Severus around 203 AD on Rome's Palatine Hill.orned with tiers of columns and arches, it symbolized imperial splendor at the triumphal route's end, welcoming visitors with cascading water and ornate architecture—elements beautifully rendered here in intricate lines. Part of Lafreri's renowned *Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae* ("Mirror of Roman Magnificence"), a seminal 16th-century anthology of over 500 prints, this work fueled the Renaissance fascination with classical antiquity. Published in Rome, these affordable etchings and engravings allowed scholars, artists, and travelers to study and admire Rome's ruins without visiting, preserving views of structures like the Septizodium, which had largely vanished by then due to decay and reuse. Measuring 18⅞ x 13 inches, this print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection highlights etching's fine detail for architectural precision and engraving's bold contrasts. Acquired via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1941, it invites us to marvel at Rome's enduring legacy, bridging antiquity and the artistic revival that shaped the modern world.
About the Artist
Anonymous|Antonio Lafreri
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...