Axial Commons Image Treasury
Etched print of a ruined triumphal arch with figures in its shadowed opening, flanked by buildings and overgrown masonry under a cloudy sky.

The Arch of Marcus Aurelius

An etching on paper showing a ruined triumphal arch framed by tall buildings, with a small group of figures in the shaded archway. Overgrown fragments of masonry and a cloudy sky rise above the arch, and a caption in italic script runs along the lower margin.

Artist
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Date
1762
Medium
Etching
Source
Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum)
Size
2893 × 4000 px
Download full size
Public domain · Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum) releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1762).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Español: El Arco de Marco Aurelio, grabado de Piranesi

Un grabado que muestra un arco triunfal en ruinas, enmarcado por edificios altos, con un pequeño grupo de figuras bajo la sombra del vano. Restos de mampostería cubiertos de vegetación y un cielo nublado se elevan sobre el arco, y una leyenda en cursiva recorre el margen inferior.

Português: O Arco de Marco Aurélio, gravura de Piranesi

Uma gravura que mostra um arco triunfal em ruínas, enquadrado por edifícios altos, com um pequeno grupo de figuras na sombra do vão. Fragmentos de alvenaria cobertos de vegetação e um céu nublado erguem-se acima do arco, e uma legenda em itálico percorre a margem inferior.

Rome and Ancient Greecepiranesietchingarch of marcus aureliusroman ruinstriumphal archveduteromeengraving18th centuryarchitecture printclassical ruinsblack and white

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