Sepulchrum (sic) Adriani, from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman Antiquity

Sepulchrum (sic) Adriani, from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman Antiquity

Anonymous, Italian, 16th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Perspectival depiction of part of the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian referred to as the ‘Sepulchrum Adriani’. The building is characterized by its central plan consisting of two circular floors on a rectangular base. The building is crowned by a rectangular (?) lantern. A statue of a Roman soldier is placed on the right corner of the base of the building. Two other statues are placed in semi-circular niches on the second floor. While the building is meant to represent Hadrian’s Tomb, still preserved as the Castel Sant’Angelo today, this rendition was likely created as an ekphrasis, without extensive knowledge of the remains of the original. The print is part of a group of architectural prints depicting buildings from Roman Antiquity, ranging from triumphal arches to bath houses, temples and palaces in Italy, France and Spain. Some of the buildings have been artificially reconstructed based on Medieval descriptions, while others are depicted in their ruinous states. The plates are known in several (uncatalogued) states, and have undergone minor changes over time. Several titles of buildings have been changed, and the plates have been cropped as a result of plate cracks and oxidation. Most copper plates for this series have been engraved on both sides. This print is taken from the same plate as the 'Mercurii Templum'.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sepulchrum (sic) Adriani, from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman AntiquitySepulchrum (sic) Adriani, from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman AntiquitySepulchrum (sic) Adriani, from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman AntiquitySepulchrum (sic) Adriani, from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman AntiquitySepulchrum (sic) Adriani, from a Series of 24 Depicting (Reconstructed) Buildings from Roman Antiquity

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.