Partial View of the Colosseum; verso: Sketch of the Temple of Minerva Medicea 1771 - 1824

Johann Christian Klengel made this drawing of the Colosseum with pen and gray ink, and gray wash, on paper. These were the tools of an artist who has a romantic sensibility of ruins. The appeal of the ruin lies in the contrast between the precision of its original fabrication and the effects of weathering, and the artist has been able to capture the essence of this juxtaposition. Notice how Klengel's controlled, almost architectural, rendering captures the block-by-block construction of the Colosseum, which once stood as a symbol of Roman engineering and power. Now nature encroaches into the scene. Vegetation sprouts from the stone, and the sky has been washed with a misty quality, softening its imposing presence. Klengel seems to be in touch with the themes of labor, politics, and the passage of time. By focusing on the processes of decay, as much as those of construction, he encourages us to consider the social and political contexts that shape our understanding of the artwork.