The Roman antiquities, t. 2, Plate XV. Inscriptions and fragments of the burial chambers of the Family Arrunzia (figures carved from Barbault). 1756

Giovanni Battista Piranesi created this etching, *The Roman antiquities, t. 2, Plate XV*, of the burial chambers of the Family Arrunzia. The composition is immediately striking, a collage of fragments floating against a dark background. Piranesi presents these archaeological remains not as artifacts of a distant past, but as elements in a dynamic visual field. The arrangement of the broken reliefs and inscriptions suggests a layering of time and meaning, with the artist inviting us to piece together a narrative from these shattered remnants. Piranesi’s use of light and shadow enhances the textural qualities of the stone. Each line and mark contributes to a semiotic system, where wings, faces, vases and inscriptions are signs within a cultural discourse about mortality and memory. Notice how Piranesi destabilizes established meanings by presenting the fragments out of their original context. The artist challenges us to engage with the past not as a fixed entity, but as a fluid and ever-evolving construct.