Plattegrond van de fontein Arethuse op eiland Orhtygia, Syracuse 1778

Louis Ducros made this floor plan of the Fountain of Arethusa on Ortygia Island in Syracuse using pencil, pen and brush, with watercolor. It shows the steps, the cave where the source springs forth, another cave, the basin, and little pipes where the water runs off. Ducros was a landscape painter who dedicated himself to the aesthetic appreciation of classical ruins and monuments. These images, produced in multiples, fed a booming market for Grand Tour souvenirs, where the romance of history could be consumed on the go. The Fountain of Arethusa itself is a structure, made through the labor of stonecutters, masons, and plumbers. But even in its day, it was packaged up and sold as a pretty picture, the artistry of Ducros mediating the experience. This is a reminder that even the most monumental achievements of material culture are always subject to representation, commodification, and ultimately, consumption.