Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting1829

Trajan Hunting Wild Boar

1829

A nineteenth-century etching that shows Trajan on horseback hunting a wild boar. It is a later artistic image, not a record of his life.

Shows Trajan as a horseback hunter, a later artistic image that reflects how nineteenth-century artists pictured the emperor.

Ask Trajan about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black and white etching of a hunting scene. Two mounted riders with spears chase a wild boar through a wooded landscape with large twisted trees. The rider in front wears armor and a cloak and holds a spear. A second rider follows behind. Inscription in italic text along the bottom edge reads L' Imperatore Trajano alla caccia.
L' Imperatore Trajano, alla caccia, etching, Pinelli, Rome, 1829.

About this source

What it is

This is an etching published in Rome in 1829 by Pinelli, titled in Italian L' Imperatore Trajano, alla caccia. It shows two mounted riders with spears chasing a wild boar through a wooded landscape with large twisted trees. The rider in front wears armor and a cloak. The print is part of a collection record that also lists it as LC no. 74.

Why it matters

Trajan ruled Rome from 98 to 117, and this print was made more than seven centuries later, so it reflects how the emperor was imagined in the nineteenth century. Hunting scenes like this one connected rulers with courage, skill and the outdoor life of the nobility. The print tells us more about the artist and the taste of its time than about the real emperor.

Look closer

  • What does the rider's armor and cloak suggest about the kind of hero the artist wanted to show?
  • Why might an artist of 1829 choose a hunting scene to represent a Roman emperor?
  • What is missing from this scene that a historian would need to know about Trajan's rule?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Trajan on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Trajan sources

Meet the AI Trajan →
Tall marble Trajan's Column in Rome, a fluted column with spiral relief bands, topped by a bronze statue on a balcony platform. Behind it is a domed church with a lantern and tall buildings under a clear blue sky.Sculpture

Primary source

Trajan's Column

Apollodorus of Damascus · 113 AD

Plan drawing of the Imperial Fora in Rome. Labeled features include Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Column, Basilica Ulpia, Temple of Trajan, Libraries, Markets of Trajan, Forum of Augustus, Forum of Nerva, Temple of Peace, Forum of Caesar, and Curia, with a scale bar in metres and feet.Artifact

Primary source

Trajan's Forum

Apollodorus of Damascus · c. 100-113 AD

Plain red cloth book cover with fine vertical ribbed texture and a darker spine edge on the left side. No title or text is visible.Speech

Primary source

Panegyricus

Pliny the Younger · c. 100 AD

Front view of the Arch of Trajan in Benevento, a white marble Roman triumphal arch with carved relief panels and a long inscription on the attic, under a clear blue sky. Tourists stand on the paved square at left, and a tour bus and a small rounded shrub are visible on the right.Artifact

Secondary source

Arch of Trajan at Benevento

114-117 AD

Marble head sculpture of a man with short, combed, curled hair over the forehead, a stern brow, a straight nose, and a slight closed-mouth expression. The head rests on a plain base against a brick-colored wall.Sculpture

Primary source

Portrait of Trajan

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Trajan now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions