Hadrian's Villa- The Central Room of the Larger Thermae 1770

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this etching of Hadrian's Villa, showing the central room of the larger Thermae. Etching is a printmaking process where lines are incised into a metal plate, which is then inked and pressed onto paper. Piranesi was a master of this technique, and the image before us shows the material qualities of the printing process. Look closely and you can see the dense, intricate network of lines that create the image's texture and tone. It’s a labor-intensive process, requiring skill and precision to achieve such detail. But consider, too, the social context in which Piranesi was working. He was part of a burgeoning tourist industry, catering to wealthy Europeans who wanted to experience the grandeur of ancient Rome. Piranesi's prints allowed them to take that experience home with them. Ultimately, appreciating Piranesi's work means understanding the relationship between the material processes, the artistic skill, and the social forces that shaped its creation. It invites us to look beyond the surface of the image and consider the labor, politics, and consumption that are all embedded in the print.