Architectural Fantasy of a Magnificent Ancient Port c. 1750

Pierre Moreau created this etching, "Architectural Fantasy of a Magnificent Ancient Port", during the 18th century. It's an imaginary space, yet Moreau’s architectural drawing invites us to consider how fantasies are rooted in lived realities. During the 1700s, European culture was obsessed with ancient Greece and Rome, a period now known as the Neoclassical Era. This etching reflects that fascination, but it also transforms and reimagines the classical world. While it seems to depict a bustling port, who is doing the labor? Who is moving the goods and steering the boats? The grandeur of the architecture contrasts sharply with the ordinary people populating the scene. Moreau’s fantasy suggests a world both beautiful and melancholic, powerful and yet dependent on the labor of the common person. It asks us to consider whose stories are told through grand architecture, and whose are omitted.