Resten van Zeus Olympus tempel bij Agrigento 1778

Louis Ducros made this watercolor of the remains of the Zeus Olympus temple in Agrigento. Ducros was part of a wave of artists drawn to Italy to document its classical ruins, but his work exists within the complicated context of colonialism. Ducros’s picturesque rendering of the temple, with a figure in the foreground, invites viewers into a romanticized past. But what does it mean to aestheticize ruins, to frame them as beautiful or sublime? It can obscure the violence, exploitation, and power dynamics that shaped the history, and also the present. Who gets to tell the story of these ruins, and whose perspectives are privileged? This image encourages us to consider whose stories are centered in our understanding of history, and what voices and perspectives may be missing. It invites us to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in looking at the past.