Mario Chigi arriveert in Rome waar de pest heerst 1657

Giovanni Giacomo de' Rossi’s engraving captures Mario Chigi’s arrival in Rome amidst the plague. Through a series of detailed panels, the print offers a fragmented view of the city and the procession. De' Rossi's composition is not unified; instead, each tier presents a distinct episode with varying perspectives and scales, disrupting a singular spatial logic. Notice how architectural elements like the buildings and gates, meticulously rendered, act as spatial dividers between scenes, yet also emphasize the density and confinement experienced during the epidemic. The use of linear perspective, though present, serves less to create depth and more to flatten the image, accentuating the narrative's unfolding across a single plane. This fractured representation mirrors the destabilized social and urban order of Rome during the plague. The print invites us to consider how visual form reflects and reinforces the experience of crisis and fragmentation. It challenges the viewer to piece together a coherent narrative from disparate elements.