Forum and Column of Antoninus 1641

Curator: Here we have Giacomo Lauro's "Forum and Column of Antoninus," residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. It is an engraving on a plate. Editor: It feels almost like a stage set—rigid, geometric. The figures are tiny, like actors in a play about Roman civic life. Curator: Exactly! The print is an early example of how these forums were being perceived and, dare I say, marketed to the public. Consider the labor of the engraver to produce and disseminate these images. Editor: It's interesting to think about how prints like this shaped public perceptions of ancient Rome, creating a kind of visual shorthand for power and history. Curator: Indeed, a way to package and consume even the most monumental of civic works. Editor: So, what began as a public space became a commodity. Profound shift.