Portret van Giovanni Battista Soria op 42-jarige leeftijd 1624

This is Jerôme David’s engraving, "Portret van Giovanni Battista Soria op 42-jarige leeftijd," made sometime in the 17th century. It depicts a man, Giovanni Battista Soria, framed in an oval, with an inscription below. Soria was an architect whose work contributed to the urban landscape of Baroque Rome. David’s engraving would have circulated among a learned, largely male, audience interested in architecture and the arts. The inscription is addressed to the readers, presumably of Soria’s book, and speaks to the embellishments and adornments found in his architectural designs. This reminds us that within the overwhelmingly male history of architecture, the task of embellishment has often been feminized. Ornamentation was historically deemed less important, thus open to women and other marginalized figures. This engraving invites us to consider how identity, labor, and artistry intersect within the grand narratives of architectural history. It prompts us to ask who gets to build, who gets to decorate, and whose stories are told in the stones of our cities.