Zicht op de ruïne van een bakkerij in Pompeï 1847

Charles-Claude Bachelier rendered this view of a bakery ruin in Pompeii as part of a series on Naples. Bachelier’s print offers a glimpse into a site frozen in time by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii was rediscovered in the 18th century, a moment that ignited a widespread fascination with antiquity, and a renewed interest in the everyday life of those long since passed. Bachelier's image is not just an architectural record, it invites contemplation on the lives of the bakers, the rhythms of their daily routines, and the sudden end that met them. What does it mean to witness the remnants of a space where labor and sustenance were so intimately connected? What stories might these walls tell of the individuals who once shaped the dough and fired the ovens? Perhaps this image may serve as a memorial to the people of Pompeii.