A Reconstruction of the Aerarium (above) and a View of the Ruins (below) 1690 - 1704

In pen, gray wash, and red chalk, Jan Goeree depicted a reconstruction of the Aerarium above a view of its ruins. The Aerarium, or treasury, in ancient Rome, was not only a repository for public funds but also a symbol of Roman power and governance. Goeree, working in the Dutch Republic, engages with a long tradition of Northern European artists looking back to classical antiquity. What's striking here is the way Goeree presents both the ideal form of the building and its present decayed state. This juxtaposition speaks to the 18th-century fascination with the cyclical nature of civilizations, rising to power and then falling into ruin. To understand Goeree’s image, one can look to contemporary architectural treatises and archeological records, popular at the time. These resources provide insight into how artists and scholars of the period understood and reimagined the classical world. This image reminds us that our understanding of history is always mediated through the cultural lens of the present.