View of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, built by Constantine the Great 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this intaglio print of the Basilica of St. Paul. From the foreground, dark figures populate the nave and recede into the distance toward the illuminated apse. The print's sharp contrast captures a cavernous interior, playing with light and shadow. Piranesi uses linear perspective and scale to convey the vastness and grandeur. The rhythmic colonnades and coffered ceiling meet at a vanishing point far in the background, emphasizing architectural immensity. Through engraving, Piranesi presents a play of vertical lines versus horizontal planes, adding depth. Here, the architectural rendering isn't just documentation; the exaggerated scale and dramatic lighting communicate the sublime power and historical weight of classical structures. The image embodies the Enlightenment’s fascination with antiquity, using the basilica’s form to evoke ideas of historical continuity, power, and the aesthetics of monumentality.