View of Ponte Mammolo, a bridge in the background, a tower with ramp in the middle ground, a man with a walking stick in the foreground, from the series 'The Ruins of Rome'

Art Historical Context

Created in 1639 by Dutch artist Bartholomeus Breenbergh, *View of Ponte Mammolo* belongs to his celebrated series *The Ruins of Rome*. This small etching, measuring just under four inches tall, captures a quiet corner of the Roman landscape: the ancient bridge recedes into the distance a fortified tower with a ramp rises in the middle ground. A solitary traveler with a walking stick pauses in the foreground, lending a sense of scale and human presence to the scene. Breenbergh, who spent several years in Italy, specialized in intimate views of antique ruins that appealed to both local patrons and Northern European collectors. Etching allowed him to render crumbling masonry and atmospheric skies with remarkable delicacy on such a modest sheet. The inclusion of everyday figures alongside monumental architecture reflects the seventeenth-century fascination with classical remains not merely as relics, but as living elements of the Italian countryside. Today in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection through the bequest of Phyllis Massar, the print offers modern viewers a pocket-sized window onto Rome’s layered past and the enduring appeal of its ruins.

About the Artist

Bartholomeus Breenbergh · 1598–1657

Probably was apprenticed in Amsterdam. He was one of the early Dutch italianates, that is, northern artists who travelled to Italy in the 1620s and were inspired by southern landscapes. On his return, he settled in Amsterdam and his landscapes were developed as more severe and monumental, often with historical subjects; strongly influenced by the Pre-Rembrandtists. Comment on works: Landscapes; Ru...