Rustic Building among Roman Ruins 

Aureliano Milani made this drawing of a "Rustic Building among Roman Ruins" using pen and brown ink wash on paper. Milani, an Italian artist who lived from 1675 to 1749, was working at a time when ruins were a popular subject, and this drawing offers insight into the cultural fascination with the past. But this isn't just about nostalgia, it is also about the present. Look at how Milani juxtaposes the grandeur of Roman ruins with the simplicity of a rustic building. What does it tell us about the relationship between past and present, high and low culture? The choice of ruins as a subject reflects a broader cultural interest among collectors and academics and the institutions that served them. Historians use a range of documents, from travelogues to architectural surveys, to reconstruct how past societies have engaged with their own history. It helps us to reflect on how our understanding of art is shaped by the social and institutional contexts in which art is made, circulated, and understood.