The drawing shows an elevation of the Arch of Constantine in Rome with a plan below. Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine hill, the Arch of Constantine is the last of the existing triumphal arches of Rome and a primary model for early modern and modern interpretations. In the 18th century it was the subject of numerous paintings and prints including paintings by Canaletto (1697-1768) and engravings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778). The elevation is composed of two parts: a lower portion, consisting of a central archway with smaller archways left and right, and a high attic above. The attic level holds the arch’s dedicatory inscription at the centre, statues over the columns and bas-reliefs in the lateral panels. The lower portion of the arch is framed by tall Corinthian columns on pedestals surmounted by a Corinthian entablature which breaks out over the columns. The elevation depicts the arch in simplified form omitting the inscriptions, statues and bas-reliefs of the attic and the bas-reliefs carved into the paneling and roundels of the lower portion.

The drawing belongs to a set of 66 measured drawings of Italian Renaissance and Ancient Roman architecture which the V&A purchased from Edwin Parsons in 1886. The Parsons set may belong to a larger series of over 700 architectural drawings scattered in English and international collections formerly owned by the British Consul at Venice, Joseph Smith (1682-1770). A proponent of Palladian architecture, Smith began collecting measured drawings of classical and Renaissance architecture from the early 1740s. Today, most of this material exists in a series of bound volumes at the Royal Collection (where the Admiranda Artis Architecturae Varia is kept) and at the British Library (which holds the three-volume Admiranda Urbis Venetae), as well as in loose sheets scattered in collections across Europe and North America including the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Canadian Centre for Architecture.

The author of these drawings is unknown. However, their style and subject matter suggests the involvement of the Venetian architect, painter, engraver and theorist Antonio Visentini (1688-1782). A member of the Venetian Academy since its foundation in 1755, Visentini was affiliated with Smith and executed a vast number of architectural drawings for the British Consul as well as for a broader British collector base. Most of these drawings are scaled in English feet and consist of simplified plans and elevations of exemplary Italian architecture. Often produced as a series, the drawings were purchased by British Gentlemen to be included in their libraries and collections. The present drawing forms part of this material. The drawing is not signed by Visentini, but may have been produced by one of Visentini’s workshop members or pupils or by an unknown draughtsman working in the style of Visentini.