A Corner of the Colosseum 1820

Friedrich Olivier made this drawing, "A Corner of the Colosseum," around 1820. This detailed sepia drawing, created during a time of burgeoning interest in classical antiquity, captures the Colosseum not in its former glory, but in its state of partial ruin. The romanticism of the era deeply influenced Olivier, as can be seen in his choice to highlight the picturesque decay of this once-imposing structure. There's a feeling of melancholy evoked as nature reclaims the stone. The drawing makes one consider themes of time, memory, and the transience of human power. It invites us to reflect on the legacies we leave behind and the inevitable entropy that affects even the most formidable structures. The drawing becomes a meditation on the passage of time and the transformations wrought by history and nature.