Old and New Rome, Victor Emanuel Monument 1911

Editor: Here we have Joseph Pennell's etching, "Old and New Rome, Victor Emanuel Monument," from 1911. It's such a detailed cityscape, and the contrast between the ruins and the new construction is striking. What do you make of it? Curator: The materiality here is key. Etching, a process of acid-induced mark-making on metal, is used to depict this clash of temporalities in Rome. Pennell highlights the layers of labor—the ancient stonemasons, the 19th-century construction workers. Look at how he renders the scaffolding around the Victor Emanuel Monument. Editor: I see that, almost like one period is building on the other. What does it signify? Curator: It emphasizes a constant state of making and remaking. Consider the consumption of history, the way Italy at this time was grappling with its identity. The Victor Emanuel Monument itself was a monumental consumption of marble and resources. It was designed to project power. Editor: So it’s not just about aesthetics but about the social and political forces that drive creation? Curator: Precisely. Pennell isn’t simply depicting Rome; he’s showing the physical and social processes that construct it, how materials are extracted, shaped, and consumed in the service of national narratives. He is presenting art as the result of human labor and socio-economic contexts. What does the monument represent for you? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way. I just saw the monument, rather than what it took to build it! I see it now as a constant power play depicted using different periods and materials. Thank you for pointing that out! Curator: And I’m reminded that images often conceal as much as they reveal about the material world and human actions.