A Reconstruction of the Base of the Column Rostrata. 1690 - 1704

Jan Goeree’s drawing, made around 1700, reconstructs the base of the Column Rostrata using pen and brown ink, with gray wash over graphite on paper. The Column Rostrata, a Roman victory column, is re-imagined through Goeree's rigorous depiction. The careful structuring of the composition draws our eye upwards, accentuating the column's height and symbolic weight. The monochromatic application of washes emphasizes the play of light and shadow across the surfaces, underlining the texture and materiality of the imagined monument. This focus on structure serves to monumentalize not only the victory the column represents but also Goeree’s craft. This emphasis on form and composition is a hallmark of Goeree's approach, inviting us to consider how such visual elements construct meaning. The drawing, therefore, becomes a study in the semiotics of architectural representation, where each line and shadow contributes to a complex code of historical and artistic interpretation.