Vedute di Roma 

Editor: Here we have Giovanni Battista Piranesi's "Vedute di Roma", an etching showing a view in Rome. The level of detail achieved through printmaking is really striking. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: It's the raw physicality, the tangible weight of the stone itself. Piranesi is presenting not just architecture, but the materiality of Roman power, exposed and weathered. This is not just an aesthetic exercise; it speaks volumes about the labour and resources that built this empire. Consider how these prints themselves were produced and distributed, acting as commodities connecting viewers to Rome. Editor: So, you're focusing on the building process and its economic footprint, as it were? Curator: Precisely. We are looking at the remnants of an empire whose production demanded vast exploitation of both labor and materials. Where did that stone come from? Who quarried it? Whose hands carved these intricate details? These details become traces of human effort, ingrained within the architecture and, therefore, the art. Editor: I see, it makes me wonder about the market for these prints, too. They offered a connection to Rome for people who would likely never see it in person. Curator: Yes, the act of distribution further extends the empire's reach, reproducing its image and cementing its cultural influence across different geographies. Even consumption becomes another phase in its long material existence. Editor: Thinking about it that way really changes how I see the image. Thanks for pointing that out. Curator: The pleasure is mine. It reminds us to consider art’s embeddedness within larger economic systems, and the stories that the material itself can tell us.