View of the Arch of Titus, from Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s grand-scale prints are considered some of the most remarkable etchings of the 18th century. In over a thousand plates, he masterfully incorporated a broad range of lines, from delicately fine details to deep incisions that emboss the paper when printed.A self-proclaimed architect, the Venetian-born Piranesi moved to Rome when he was twenty and made a profitable livelihood selling his etchings of the city’s landmarks to tourists. He captured the coexistence of modern life and idealized antiquities, such as this view of the Arch of Titus, built in AD 81, which towers over pedestrians below.