Baths of Trajan (Sette Sale, Villa Brancaccio, Rome) 1879 - 1882

William Stanley Haseltine made this watercolor painting, Baths of Trajan, in Rome. Look closely, and you'll notice how the translucent washes evoke the weathered surfaces of the ancient Roman ruins. Haseltine's method emphasizes the material effects of light, water, and time on the bricks and mortar. Each careful stroke captures not just the appearance, but also the sensation of the stone's texture. Consider, too, the labor involved in the Baths of Trajan themselves, built during antiquity, and the sheer amount of work that went into the production of the bricks and mortar. Now fast forward to Haseltine, who captures the scene with his own kind of slow, careful work. It's a reminder that all art, whether painting or architecture, has a deep and abiding relationship to the work it embodies, and how we understand both are intertwined.