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The Portico of the Pantheon

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

1760

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Romanticism 18th Century Architectural

Dominant colour

The Portico of the Pantheon is a 1760 ink by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
When & what style?: 1760 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This sketch shows a row of tall, grand columns with arched openings. The walls and ceiling are drawn with quick, crisscrossed lines. Light fades from the top, leaving the bottom half darker, like a shadowy stage. The artist used ink and wash to make the scene feel dramatic and slightly ghostly. The lines overlap in a way that makes the columns look heavy and mysterious. Next, check out cross-hatching to see how artists build shadow with lines.