View of the Arch of Titus 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this etching of the Arch of Titus sometime before his death in 1778. He was one of many eighteenth-century artists who were fascinated by the grandeur of ancient Rome and its ruins. Piranesi’s image creates meaning through visual codes and historical associations. The Arch was erected in 82 AD to commemorate the Roman victory in the Jewish War, and it symbolizes Roman power and imperial ambition. By the eighteenth century, the ruin had become a popular destination for aristocratic travelers on the ‘Grand Tour.’ The etching would have appealed to these consumers. Piranesi also participated in a wider debate about the relationship between ancient and modern architecture. In his prints, he sought to demonstrate the superiority of Roman design, which he saw as more inventive and dramatic than the architecture of his own time. Art historians draw on guidebooks, travel accounts, and architectural treatises to better understand the social and institutional contexts of art. The meaning of art is contingent on those contexts.