Lateraanse Obelisk en het Lateraans Paleis te Rome 1675 - 1711

This print shows us the Lateran Obelisk and Palace in Rome, rendered by an anonymous artist. The image is a window into the city's layered history and power dynamics. Originally from Egypt, the obelisk literally stands as a trophy of ancient conquest, moved to Rome by an emperor. The Lateran Palace, once the primary residence of the Popes, looms large, a symbol of religious authority. Note the figures scattered in the foreground. These anonymous people remind us of the everyday lives unfolding beneath these grand symbols of power, their own stories often erased from official narratives. We might ponder how their lives were shaped by the institutions represented here, and the complex relationship between the sacred, the secular, and the individual experience. This image invites us to reflect on the ways in which history is constructed and whose stories are told, and whose are left out. It reminds us that even in the grandest of settings, human experience remains at the heart of the narrative.