Name/Title
Temple of Jupiter, AthensEntry/Object ID
2018.08.36Description
Painting
This image depicts the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Jupiter Best and Greatest), the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline Hill. The temple honored the Capitoline Triad of Roman deities: Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.Artwork Details
Medium
Watercolour on paperSubject Place
Region
Southern EuropeContinent
EuropeContext
A colossal structure that towered over the city, the temple’s importance as the cultural, religious and civic centre of Rome cannot be overstated. The temple was a repository for objects of ritual, cultural, and political significance. In addition, the temple served as the culmination point for triumphs, a meeting place for the senate, a location for combined religious and political pageantry and an archive for public records. And while the temple was built in an Etruscan style, its construction marked the origin point for the development of the Roman temple-building tradition.
Dedicated in 509 BC, the traditional date for the first year of the Roman Republic, the temple was destroyed by fire, plundered and rebuilt a number of times. Unfortunately, neglect, spoliation, and site adaptation means that very little of the Temple remains today.
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This watercolour may have been done as part of a "Grand Tour", an educational rite of passage for the young sons, and later daughters, of the wealthy, popular from the mid-1600s and peaking in the later 1900s. The aim was to offer an extensive exploration of the finest cities, ancient landmarks and archaeological sites. The tour was intended to prepare them for élite life by enhancing their classical studies, honing their social skills, making social and maybe business connections and providing enlightenment.
The tour was generally planned with a standard itinerary and a chaperone or guide and undertaken by upper class British and Northern European young men and later women through Europe and sometimes beyond, with Italy as a key destination. Similar trips were also later made by wealthy young men of South and North America. The popularity of the tour declined as enthusiasm for classical culture diminished, and with the arrival of accessible rail and steamship travel. The tour phenomenon transformed the cultural landscape of Great Britain and other countries and, ultimately, the travel industry as we know it today.Made/Created
Date made
circa 1900Time Period
19th Century, 20th CenturyInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Signature, InscriptionTranscription
Signature illegible
Verso lower right in pencil: Temple de Jupiter Athènes 000Dimensions
Dimension Description
SupportHeight
18.4 cmWidth
28.3 cm
