Arch of Vespasian 1775

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this etching of the Arch of Vespasian using metal plates, acid, and ink. Look closely, and you will see the distinctive qualities of the etched line, made by coating a metal plate with wax, scratching an image into the wax, and then dipping the plate in acid, which bites into the exposed metal. The plate is then inked and printed, leaving a characteristically sharp, slightly raised line on the paper. Piranesi was a master of this laborious process, and he used it to great effect here. This print speaks not only to the grandeur of ancient Rome, but also the world of labor required to build and maintain it. Aqueducts like this were essential to the city's infrastructure, and their construction demanded the coordination of many skilled workers. Next time you encounter an etching, consider the way that its unique qualities are bound up with both the artist’s vision, and the collective social history of its making.