Second View of the Baths of Diocletian, from set of Roman Ruins 1550

Hieronymus Cock made this etching, Second View of the Baths of Diocletian, from a set of Roman Ruins, in 1550. It depicts the ruins of ancient Roman baths. The image invites us to consider the passage of time and the fall of empires, a theme that resonated deeply in 16th-century Europe. Cock's work participates in the visual language of the Northern Renaissance. The print was produced during a period when there was growing interest in classical antiquity. The ruins could reference not only a bygone era but also the role of the Catholic Church and Papal power as the inheritors of the Roman Empire. What did these ruins mean to a population undergoing religious reformation? Are they a celebration of the past, or a commentary on the impermanence of worldly power? Historical interpretation depends on sustained research. By exploring period writings, architectural studies, and religious debates, one can begin to reconstruct the complex meanings these ruins held for Cock and his contemporaries.