Lateraanse Obelisk te Rome 1748 - 1778

This print of the Lateran Obelisk in Rome was made by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, an artist known for his dramatic depictions of architecture. Piranesi used etching, a printmaking technique involving biting lines into a metal plate with acid. Note how this process lends itself to intricate detail. He emphasizes the sheer scale and antiquity of the obelisk. The stone, quarried in Egypt and transported to Rome, speaks to the vast reach and ambition of ancient empires. Consider, too, the labor involved in creating such a monument, both the original obelisk and Piranesi's rendering. The print mediates the real object: a stone obelisk transformed into an image through skilled labor. The etched lines capture not just the form, but also the weight of history embedded in the material itself. It reminds us that every object carries traces of its making, and the social relations that made it possible.