Artwork

A Street with Various Buildings, Colonnades and an Arch

A Street with Various Buildings, Colonnades and an Arch, by Andrea Zoan, ink, 1505
A Street with Various Buildings, Colonnades and an Arch, by Andrea Zoan, ink, 1505

A Street with Various Buildings, Colonnades and an Arch is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Andrea Zoan. It dates from 1505 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Andrea Zoan’s early sixteenth‑century engraving, dated around 1505, depicts an elongated urban thoroughfare. The composition is framed by a series of columned façades, a central archway, and a succession of buildings whose windows appear recessed and whose upper mouldings are richly detailed.

Subject & Meaning

The scene presents a stylised city street, emphasizing architectural order through the repetition of colonnades and the focal arch that opens onto a more distant structure. The arrangement suggests a procession or a ceremonial approach, reflecting contemporary interests in idealised urban space.

Technique & Style

Zoan employs a dense network of fine, parallel lines to model volume and convey shadow, a hallmark of early Renaissance printmaking. The linear hatching creates a sense of depth, while the crisp delineation of architectural elements underscores the artist’s attention to structural detail.

History & Provenance

Created circa 1505, the engraving is attributed to Andrea Zoan, an Italian printmaker active in the early 1500s. The work survives in several museum collections, though its original ownership and the circumstances of its commission remain undocumented.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Andrea Zoan

Artist

Andrea Zoan

Andrea Zoan (1505–1515) was an artist.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: National Gallery of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.