Arch of Severus, and Caracalla
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Arco di Severo, e Caracalla
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2024-10-17T12:43:53-07:00
Arco di Severo, e Caracalla.; A. Forami per sostegno degli ornamenti di bronzo. B. Tempio della Concordia. C. Avanzo del Tempio di Giove Tonante. D. Colonna rimasa in piedi della Grecostasi.; Piranesi Architetto dis(egnò) inc(ise).
Arch of Severus, and Caracalla.; A. Holes to hold up the bronze ornaments. B. Temple of Concord. C. Remains of the Temple of Jupiter Tonans. D. Column from the Graecostasis that is still standing.; Drawn and engraved by the Architect Piranesi.
In this etching of the Arch of Septimius Severus, rendered here as viewed from the north, Piranesi’s fascination with ancient epigraphy comes to the fore, and his disdain for certain features of ancient architecture appears in the linked textual commentary. The large and lengthy inscription of the monument is given top billing in the print, and its Latin characters are carefully and legibly rendered with great fidelity to the original. This dedicatory inscription records the circumstances of the arch: it was dedicated in AD 203 CE to Emperors Septimius Severus (145-211 CE) and his sons and co-rulers Caracalla and Geta, and commemorative of their victories in the Parthian wars, which pitted the Roman empire against the Parthian empire in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. The arch, which sits today at the northwest end of the Roman Forum, features one of the most monumental and lengthiest surviving ancient inscriptions from the Roman Empire. This inscription has long been considered one of the most significant aspects of the monument, and Piranesi reproduces the full Latin text and its translation in his Index to the Map of Rome.
Appropriately then, Piranesi draws our attention to the ancient inscription in its placement and careful rendering, as well as in the play of light and shadow, the pointing arms of the staffage figures in the foreground, and the uplifted gazes of the figures below the arch all draw our eyes to this central element. More subtly, the ornamental program and especially the sculptural reliefs below the inscription are rendered with less detail to avoid distracting our gaze. While weathered in reality, Piranesi’s cursory rendering of these sculpted details further hinders any attempt at reading the relief panels, which present interesting scenes from the Parthian campaigns and figures of winged victories with trophies above the central arch. It also aligns with Piranesi’s dismissal of the sculptural program of the arch as “mancandole la buona maniera dell’Architettura e della Scultura” (Index to the Map of Rome, no. 269). (SB)
