Arco della torretta vicin' a Tivoli 18th-19th century

Editor: Here we have Jacob Wilhelm Mechau's "Arco della torretta vicin' a Tivoli," an etching. It has such incredible detail! How do you see this artwork? Curator: It's fascinating how Mechau uses the etching process to depict the decay of the Roman aqueduct. Look at the way the lines describe the rough texture of the stone, now overtaken by nature. What was once a symbol of Roman engineering is here rendered into raw material, consumed by time and the elements. Consider the labor involved in the aqueduct's construction versus the relative ease of etching its ruin. Editor: That's a great point! So much human effort. Curator: The print makes me think about the cycle of production and destruction, and how value shifts across different eras and means of production. Editor: I never thought about it that way before. Thank you!