View through the Herculaneum Gate, Pompeii 1778

This is Giovanni Battista Piranesi's etching of the View through the Herculaneum Gate, Pompeii. Piranesi’s image connects to the rise of archaeology and the Grand Tour in 18th century Italy. Northern Europeans would travel to Italy and visit sites like Pompeii as part of their cultural education. The etching shows the excavated ruins of Pompeii, frozen in time after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Note how Piranesi uses strong contrasts of light and shadow, emphasizing the grandeur and decay of the ancient city. He populates the scene with figures, some seeming to measure or draw the ruins, adding to the sense of discovery and documentation. The gridded lines across the image are a modern addition, showing how it has been copied and studied over time. To fully understand this work, we can research the history of archaeology, the Grand Tour, and the rediscovery of Pompeii. Art historians consider how the artwork's meaning is dependent on this rich social and institutional context.