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The Digital Piranesi

Interior View of the Pronaos of the Pantheon

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Interior View of the Pronaos of the Pantheon

One of the volume’s three prints dedicated to the Pantheon, including an overall view (View of the Pantheon) and a view of the interior (View of the Interior of the Pantheon), this image draws particular attention to the graceful arches, granite Corinthian columns, and other architectural elements adorning the pronaos, or portico, and façade of this former temple and church. In contrast with many prints within the volume in which decaying ruins invite the viewer to imagine their former splendor, this view depicts the pronaos is depicted in nearly pristine condition; the columns stand tall and are topped by decorative capitals, and the curves of various arches stand out in juxtaposition to the sharp edges of door and roof frames. Piranesi draws further attention to the Pantheon’s enduring condition and importance to the urban environment in the Index to the Map of Rome, where he observes that “Questo, secondo la relazione degli antichi scrittori, era un Tempio de’ piu splendidi, ed è l’unico monumento dell’antica magnificenza che sia rimaso illeso nelle sue parti principali.” (Index to the Map of Rome, no. 79) Rather than create an atmosphere in which the viewer is inspired to imagine the lost grandeur of ancient structures, Piranesi suggests, through this print and its related text, that the greatness of the Pantheon endures through its imposing arches, columns, and scale.

Piranesi does draw particular attention to the Pantheon’s ancient past, however, through his use of annotations. The letter “E,” placed in two niches on either side of the main entrance to the Pantheon, indicates the absence of two statues that would have flanked the building: one of Augustus, and one of Agrippa. The position of these two statues would be fitting, given that the Pantheon is situated on the site of an early temple commissioned by Agrippa during the reign of his father-in-law, Augustus. Notably, when the new temple, the present Pantheon, was constructed by Hadrian, he retained the inscription of Agrippa’s older temple rather than inscribing a new date, rendering the exact construction date of the Pantheon an ongoing question. Revealing his deep interest in the edifice, Piranesi dedicates the longest commentary in the Index to the Map of Rome to the temple’s construction, additions made or modified over time, and various inscriptions, indicated in the previous image, including the one identifying Agrippa as the builder of the original temple.

As in other images, including the View of the Interior of the Pantheon, Piranesi signs his name to this print as a designer, engraver, and architect. That he is viewing the Pantheon through the eyes of an architect, and that he additionally encourages the viewer to do so, seems to be accomplished by his emphasis on the columns of the Pronaos. Although the print is titled “Interior View of the Pronaos of the Pantheon,” drawing attention to the portico, the focus of the print rests primarily on the columns, and the full pronaos lies beyond the boundaries of the image, with the pediment situated at the top of the pronaos mostly cut out of the frame. The resulting effect draws the viewer’s attention to the columns’ symmetry and scale, juxtaposing them against the contemporary buildings in the back of the frame. Rather than seeking to portray the Pantheon as isolated from the rest of the city through a narrower perspective, Piranesi emphasizes the enduring relationship between the Pantheon and the city, and the ways in which its architectural features—columns, arches, pediment—find subtle resonances in the architecture of the neighboring palazzi. (CBA)