Vedute del Castello dell' Acqua Paola sul Monte Aureo 1759

Editor: Here we have Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s "Vedute del Castello dell' Acqua Paola sul Monte Aureo," a cityscape made with etching and engraving in 1759. I'm immediately struck by the hustle and bustle captured in this architectural scene. How do you see this work in relation to its time? Curator: Well, Piranesi was fascinated by Rome, not just its ancient glories but also how it functioned in his own 18th century. This print wasn't just a representation, but a statement about the city's infrastructure and the papacy's role in shaping urban life. See the aqueduct dominating the scene? Editor: I do. It seems to emphasize civic improvement. Curator: Exactly. Public works like aqueducts and fountains were crucial for papal authority and public image. Piranesi isn’t just showing us a beautiful fountain; he’s illustrating the power structures at play. Notice how the figures in the foreground seem dwarfed by the architecture? It underscores the power of the institution. What does that dynamic evoke for you? Editor: I guess it creates a sense of awe, almost subservience, before this impressive feat of engineering, funded and enabled by powerful entities. And perhaps those people relied upon it every day. So this image almost memorializes that dependency? Curator: Precisely. These prints circulated widely, influencing perceptions of Rome throughout Europe. It helped to build a particular narrative around papal Rome, as being at once divinely ordained and publicly spirited. We can see Piranesi both as an artist and a skilled propagandist for a particular vision of Rome's sociopolitical structure. Editor: It’s interesting to consider how art is so much more than just the image itself. I’ll never see Piranesi's prints in the same way again!