The Porta San Paolo and the Pyramid of Cestius in Rome c. 1809 - 1812

Josephus Augustus Knip made this watercolor of the Porta San Paolo and the Pyramid of Cestius in Rome. Painted in the early nineteenth century, it shows Rome as a site of layered histories. This image creates meaning through its combination of visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. Knip was Dutch, but he spent much of his career in France and Italy. This work reflects the fascination with the past among Northern European artists working in Italy during the Neoclassical period. The image brings together two ancient monuments. The Porta San Paolo was a gate in the Aurelian Walls, built in the third century CE, while the Pyramid of Cestius is an ancient Roman tomb built around 18-12 BCE. In this way, Knip's watercolor presents a conservative vision of the Roman landscape, one in which its ancient monuments, mediated through the conventions of the picturesque, provide an image of continuity with an imperial past. Art historians use a wide range of research resources to understand how artworks reflect the social conditions of their time. These include archival documents, period publications, and contemporary critical debates. This art provides us a window into the social and institutional contexts in which it was made.