Gedeelte van Latomies grotten bij Syracuse 1778

Louis Ducros created this watercolor of the Latomie stone quarries near Syracuse. Ducros was a Swiss painter who spent much of his career in Italy catering to Grand Tourists eager for picturesque views of classical ruins. The Latomie quarries were originally built by the ancient Greeks and later expanded by the Romans. These quarries weren't just sources of stone, they were also prisons. After their defeat in the Peloponnesian War, thousands of Athenian prisoners were confined here in horrific conditions. Over the centuries, the quarries became a symbol of both the grandeur of the classical world and the brutal realities of ancient warfare and slavery. Ducros’s soft brushstrokes and serene palette stand in stark contrast to the harsh history of this site. He invites the viewer to contemplate the layers of history embedded in this landscape. It's a landscape shaped by both human ambition and human suffering.