Landscape with Classical Ruins c. 1720s

Marco Ricci created this etching, "Landscape with Classical Ruins," in the early 18th century, a time when the artistic and intellectual movement of the Grand Tour was in full swing. Ricci, a Venetian artist, captures a romantic vision of the past, filtered through the lens of his own era. The crumbling columns and statues evoke a sense of the transience of power and the inevitable decay of civilizations. We see figures lounging among these ruins, their presence highlighting a complex relationship with history. Are they admirers, looters, or simply indifferent to the past? Ricci's landscape, like many idealized visions, invites us to consider what is included and what is omitted. How do these pastoral scenes gloss over the realities of labor, class, and power that underpinned the societies they depict? Through this tension, Ricci's work reflects not just a longing for the classical world, but also the complex ways in which each generation reinterprets history to suit its own needs and desires.