Perspective view of Thermopolium 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi created this print of a Thermopolium using etching, a printmaking technique that relies on acid to corrode lines into a metal plate. The deep blacks and subtle grays come from the careful control of this process, and the application of ink. What I find fascinating here is how Piranesi uses a relatively mechanical reproductive medium to convey a scene of classical ruin. The print can be endlessly multiplied, much like the remnants of Pompeii were available for viewing and consumption by wealthy Europeans on the Grand Tour. The subject and method are closely linked. Piranesi wasn't just documenting the past, he was packaging it for a modern audience, offering them a piece of history, mass-produced and mediated through his own artistic vision. The texture of the etching, with its gritty lines, subtly echoes the rough, broken surfaces of the ancient stones. It’s a ghost in the machine.