Church of St. Ignatius of the Roman college. 1. Part of the Convent of Minerva 1741 - 1748

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this print of the Church of St. Ignatius of the Roman College using etching techniques. Piranesi was a Venetian artist working in eighteenth-century Rome, a city whose visual culture was dominated by the Catholic Church, for which artists were expected to produce propagandistic images. Piranesi's picture emphasizes the imposing facade of the church, using stark lines to convey the impression of grandiosity. The church is viewed from a public square, and we see tiny figures bustling about their business, going about their lives in the shadow of this vast institution. What's most fascinating about this picture is that it offers the viewer a choice of how to understand the church. Is it a vital part of the community or is it looming over the population? Through careful study of the institutions and social structures of the past, we can better understand the politics of imagery.