The Carnival of Venice, from: Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, vol. IX 1722

Pieter van der Aa made this print of the Carnival of Venice as part of a survey of Italian history and culture. It captures the chaos and revelry of the Venetian Carnival, a pre-Lenten festival where social norms were upended. Made at the turn of the 18th century, this print speaks to the power of Venice as a site of cultural tourism. Venice was well-known for its unique political structures, and its Carnival was one of the most famous in Europe. The Carnival, a spectacle of masked figures and public performances, allowed for social mobility and transgression, and it became a key part of Venetian identity. But as the Republic of Venice declined in power, its Carnival became increasingly associated with decadence and excess, something this image evokes. To understand this print better, we can look into contemporary accounts of the Carnival, tourist guides, and other visual representations of Venice. We see here that art is never made in a vacuum; it is always embedded in a specific time, place, and set of social relations.