Fascicule II

This is Fascicule II, an etching made by Jean Claude Richard, Abbé de Saint-Non in France in the late 18th century. It's one of many prints made at this time, reproducing antique artworks for a growing audience of collectors and scholars. This print compiles images of ancient Roman artifacts. Note the classical figures harvesting grapes and the sculpture of the three graces. The etching translates three-dimensional objects into two-dimensional images. In doing so it flattens the original context of the object, presenting it as a specimen for study. The Abbé de Saint-Non was part of a network of artists and intellectuals interested in classifying knowledge about the past. These detailed etchings served as a visual record but also contributed to the formation of taste and the development of art history as a discipline. To fully appreciate this work, one might consult inventories of collections, correspondence between antiquarians, and early museum catalogs. Fascicule II helps us consider how the institutions of art shape our understanding of the past.