Art Institute of Chicago
The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, from Views of Rome
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720-1778)LinkedCulture matchlcp-ff8d60670545
- Date
- 1750/59, published 1800–07
- Medium
- Etching on heavy ivory laid paper
- Culture
- Italy
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 48215
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
One of two Piranesi engravings of the Pyramid of Cestius, this etching was published posthumously by the artist’s sons. The pyramid was essential viewing for many who undertook the Grand Tour in the 18th and 19th centuries. Constructed c. 18 b.c./c. 12 b.c. as a tomb for the powerful Roman magistrate Gaius Cestius, the marble-clad structure is reminiscent of the Roman fad for all things Egyptian. In fact, the similarity of the tomb to the pyramids of Nubia suggests that Cestius served on a military campaign in Egypt. Today Cestius’s well-preserved tomb remains Rome’s only existing ancient Egyptian-style pyramid.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- The Charles Deering Collection
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300041273
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