Emissary of Lake Albano (sets and sections) 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this etching, "Emissary of Lake Albano (sets and sections)," sometime before his death in Rome in 1778. It shows both the picturesque scenery around Lake Albano, and a feat of Roman engineering: an underground tunnel, built in the 4th century BC, to control the lake's water level. The tunnel is shown in cross-section, emphasizing its scale and complexity. Piranesi was fascinated by Roman antiquity, and his etchings often highlight the grandeur and technical sophistication of Roman architecture. Piranesi was also interested in the relationship between art and knowledge. His images documented ancient sites and buildings in meticulous detail. This print, with its combination of views and diagrams, reflects the 18th-century interest in archaeology and the scientific study of the past. Historians rely on such images as records of ancient buildings, but also to understand how the past was imagined and interpreted in more recent times. This print reveals how Roman civilization was understood in 18th-century Italy, and how new institutions of art, science and history informed that understanding.