Print made by Pieter de Bailliu (1613 - 1660)
After Pieter van Lint (1609 - 1690)
Emperor Constantine the Great laying the foundations for the Basilica of St Peter in Rome
1637
Print
309 millimetres x 240 millimetres
The British Museum, London
The emperor is kneeling in front of a statue of St Peter in a niche, one of his soldier carrying a basket at right, another outlining the foundations of the basilica with an axe, and an architect is standing beyond at left and holding the plan
The work on the construction for the Old Basilica probably began about AD 319 - 326 during the Pontificate of Sylvester. The work was essentially finished in AD 333
Pieter van Lint became a master in Antwerp in 1632. He then moved to Rome where his primary clients were a prominent family and a Roman Catholic cardinal. During this period he painted a series of frescoes and made chalk studies of antique and Renaissance drawings. Lint returned to Antwerp in 1640
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