View of the Pantheon (Veduta del Pantheon)

DecorArts Verified independent store

→

The Pantheon, dedicated to all the gods, was built by the emperor Hadrian (117-138) between 118 and 128 to replace a temple dedicated by Marcus Agrippa in 27 BC. Hadrian, with char acteristic tact, left the credit to Agrippa in the inscription on the temple's porch, but his new construction was a completely revolutionary design. Originally only the pedimented porch would have been visible to people approaching the building; the rotunda behind was concealed by neighboring structures. The interior would have come as a breathtaking surprise, a perfectly hemispherical dome set upon a cylinder so that the height of the dome equaled its diameter, a space filled with light and air from the oculus piercing the dome, glowing with color from the various marbles that covered the walls. Title View of the Pantheon (Veduta del Pantheon) Creator Giovanni Battista Piranesi Physical Dimensions 14 x 18 in. (35.6 x 45.7 cm) Provenance Purchased by MCCM from R.E. Lewis & Daughter, San Rafael, California. Subject Keywords Intaglio Rights ? Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Bruce M. White Medium Etching Dates 1756 Classification Works of Art on Paper Show more