View of Corinthian Cavedio more important than the House of the Surgeon 

Editor: So this is "View of Corinthian Cavedio more important than the House of the Surgeon" by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. It's an etching, showing detailed cross-sections of what appear to be Roman buildings. The level of detail is incredible, but it's almost overwhelming – where do you even begin to look? What stands out to you the most in this print? Curator: Ah, Piranesi! For me, it's not just the architectural details, but the palpable sense of history and imagination colliding. You see, he wasn’t merely documenting these structures; he was reinventing them, imbuing them with a romantic grandeur that might not have existed in reality. It’s almost as if he was dreaming up these impossible spaces. Do you get a sense of that fantastical element as well? Editor: I can see that, especially how the different levels and perspectives are presented. It feels less like a technical drawing and more like…a stage set? Curator: Precisely! A stage set for the drama of antiquity, perhaps. I find the way he plays with light and shadow quite captivating, lending a theatrical air to these otherwise static ruins. He invites us to imagine the lives that unfolded within these walls. The precision of the lines contrasted with the shadowed depths; what does it evoke for you? Editor: It makes me think about the layers of time. How much history these walls have seen, and how Piranesi is almost excavating those stories for us. But I never would have considered the “fantastical” aspect without your input! Curator: Art, you see, often dwells in the liminal space between fact and fiction, between what we see and what we imagine. Piranesi masterfully occupies that space, blurring the lines between reality and romantic invention. That's what makes him so enduringly fascinating, I think. Editor: Definitely. Thanks; I see it in a completely new light now.