Constructie voor de ondersteuning en verplaatsing van de zuil van Trajanus te Rome 1665 - 1698

Jacques Blondeau made this print depicting a construction for the support and displacement of Trajan’s Column in Rome. Prints like this one circulated widely in seventeenth-century Europe, and they were often made by artists trained in architecture. As you can see, the column, which was originally built to commemorate the Roman emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars, rests on an elaborate wooden structure. These prints reflect the culture of the Grand Tour, where wealthy Europeans, especially the British, visited the continent to learn about art, architecture, and ancient culture. They are testaments to the status of art institutions, such as museums and academies, which sought to preserve and study classical antiquities, such as Trajan’s Column. For historians, prints such as this are a valuable resource. They are records of the history of taste and the institutional forces that shape our understanding of the past.