Architectural Fantasy of Roman Ruins with an Inscription Plaque
1768
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1768
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This print shows a fake Roman ruin—crumbling columns, broken statues, and a grand staircase leading nowhere. A framed plaque in the middle lists names and titles in French, like a fancy label for a book. Trees with bare branches frame the scene, and a small portrait of an old man’s face peeks out below the plaque. The text calls out a painter named J.B. Greuze and a sculptor’s work, but the whole thing reads like a made-up world. The artist signed it in 1768, and the paper looks old and delicate. Next, check out the technique: etching, drypoint, aquatint to see how prints like this were made.
