View of the Temple, or Tomb, of the Camenae 1773

Giovanni Battista Piranesi created this etching of the View of the Temple, or Tomb, of the Camenae, in Rome, sometime in the 18th century. It is one of many images he produced representing ancient Roman architecture. Piranesi was trained in Venice, but he spent most of his career in Rome, where he became famous for his views of the city’s ancient monuments. This particular image is fascinating for what it tells us about the cultural obsession with the antique, or the classical past, in eighteenth-century Europe. It was a time when educated people saw the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome as models of perfection. However, notice how Piranesi represents this building not in its original splendor but as a picturesque ruin, weathered by the passage of time. He’s asking his viewers to think about how history shapes our perception and appreciation of art. To understand Piranesi's work better, we can consult the print collections held by museums and libraries to get a sense of the cultural fascination with Rome in the eighteenth century.