Vedute di Roma 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this etching, "Vedute di Roma," or "Views of Rome," at some point during his career in eighteenth-century Italy. Piranesi's Rome was a city of contrasts, where the grandeur of ancient ruins stood side-by-side with the bustling life of the modern city. This image shows the interior of a ruined building, possibly a temple or bathhouse, with its massive dome and crumbling walls. Tiny figures work among the ruins, giving a sense of scale and highlighting the contrast between the ancient past and the present. Piranesi was not just documenting the city; he was also commenting on the social structures of his time. Rome, once the center of a vast empire, was now a city struggling to maintain its former glory. Piranesi's etchings reflect this tension, capturing both the beauty and the decay of the city. The historian consults guidebooks, archives, and archeological reports to understand Piranesi's Rome and how it reflected the social and institutional context of eighteenth-century Italy. Art always relies on that wider context.