Plate 21: view from the west of ruins of the Aventine Hill, Rome, with boats on the river Tiber in the foreground, from the series 'Ruins of the antiquity of Rome, Tivoli, Pozzuoli, and other places' (Vestigi della antichità di Roma, Tivoli, Pozzvolo et altri luochi)

Art Historical Context

This evocative print, created in 1606 by engraver Aegidius Sadeler II after designs by Etienne DuPérac, captures a sweeping view of the Aventine Hill’s ancient ruins as seen from the west. Boats glide along the Tiber River in the foreground, while small figures of men animate the scene, offering a sense of scale and daily life amid the crumbling remnants of Rome’s classical past. As Plate 21 from the series *Vestigi della antichità di Roma, Tivoli, Pozzuoli et altri luoghi*, the work belongs to a tradition of architectural prints that documented the Eternal City’s decaying monuments for an eager European audience. Executed in etching and engraving, the medium allowed for both delicate atmospheric effects and precise architectural detail, making these images valuable records as well as works of art. In the early seventeenth century, such prints played a key role in preserving visual knowledge of antiquity at a time when many ruins were disappearing through reuse or neglect. They also helped fuel the growing fascination with classical culture that would later inspire the Grand Tour. Today housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this modest sheet continues to invite viewers to imagine Rome’s layered history—where the grandeur of empire meets the quiet persistence of the river that still flows beside it.

About the Artist

Aegidius Sadeler II|Etienne DuPérac · 1568–1629

Netherlandish, Antwerp 1568–1629 Prague