Engelenburcht en de Engelenbrug te Rome 1575

Étienne Dupérac’s engraving depicts the Castel Sant’Angelo and Ponte Sant’Angelo in Rome. The composition emphasizes a horizontal orientation, which is anchored by the cylindrical form of the Castel Sant’Angelo as the clear focal point, lending a sense of monumentality and historical weight. Dupérac's technique uses line and form to invite a reading of the urban landscape as a text, where architectural elements communicate power and history. The bridge, adorned with statues, acts as a symbolic and literal connection between the city and the Castel Sant'Angelo, inviting us to decode the relationships between the secular and the sacred in Renaissance Rome. The controlled lines and structured composition suggest an era grappling with humanist ideals, classical revival, and the structuring of urban space to reflect the period's cultural and political ambitions. The very act of engraving—a medium of precision and reproduction—speaks to the Renaissance desire to disseminate knowledge and assert control over the image of Rome. This artwork is not just a depiction but an interpretation.