Octavia

Internal View of the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia (Veduta interna dell’ Atrio del Portico di Ottavia), “Views of Rome,” c. 1760, Etching on Laid Paper, Sheet/Page 52 × 80 cm (20 1/2 × 31 1/2 in.), Transfer from Gelman Library, 2011, GW Collection (P.11.10b)
 

By Grace Suter

Giovanni Battista Piranesi sold prints of his etchings of Roman ruins to tourists as a lasting souvenir. The artworks were so brilliant that Goethe visited Rome after seeing the etchings and was disappointed by his encounter with the real ruins, because the prints he saw had been rendered so incredibly. Piranesi tended to add architectural and contemporary elements to his etchings to further their larger-than-life appearance. He is highly regarded for his attention to detail and ability to utilize the chiaroscuro technique, utilizing light and shadow to create a sense of realness in his works that sucks the viewer in.

In the Internal View of the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia and many other Piranesi prints, such as View of the Remains of the Tomb of the Plautii on the Via Tiburtina Near the Ponte Lugano Two Miles from Tivoli (cat. 7), the viewer can sense a critique of how Roman society devolved. However, Piranesi often highlights the legacy of the ‘Eternal City’ in the titles of his etchings by including the names of prominent Roman figures – including Octavia, elder sister to Emperor Augustus – in the titles. With figures milling around throughout the composition and the presence of weathered rock, overgrown foliage, and hay strewn about, the print radiates an essence of disparagement.

The real-life Portico of Octavia stood in a Jewish quarter as a surviving relic from an idealized past. In the eighteenth-century, Italy was in economic decline and political turmoil. To maintain religious and political control over the city, a string of popes – starting with Pope Clement XI in 1700 – promoted art and culture as a way to distract the Italian people from economic burdens and troubles surrounding the papacy. Piranesi used contrasts in his art to depict the decline of eighteenth-century Italy alongside an idealized version of Rome that celebrated the legacy of the ancient empire. By connecting the remnants of ancient Rome to his own time, Piranesi depicts the active fish market in his etching as a place for contemporary Romans in the neighborhood to come together separate from their urban lives. This alludes to the idea that the portico lives on to serve the Roman people. Thus, the depiction of decay along with a bustling market creates an interesting mix of vivaciousness, sentimentality, and uncertainty for the future of the space.

The portico itself stood as a colonnade for more than 100 years before its refurbishment by Octavia. It was once a vast complex spanning 120 meters; however, in modern times, a simple entrance arch is all that remains on the street. The complex originally included a temple of Juno, a temple of Jupiter, and a seated portrait of Cornelia – the mother of the Gracchi brothers, who were tribunes of the plebeians in the Roman Republic during the second century BCE. Scholars posit that there was also a portrait of a seated Venus to link the goddess to the matron. These portraits with female subjects served as an ideological message from Octavia after she reconstructed the portico, signifying that she, like the other figures, plays an important role next to the powerful men in her family. After the portico underwent reconstruction, it served as an enclosed space separate from the bustle of the city.

According to Pliny the Elder, the indoors of the complex were filled with famous statues and sculptural ensembles. Octavia restored the temples and added a meeting hall as well as two libraries for Greek and Latin literature. She also covered the floors and walls of the portico with colorful marble. It was clear she valued the Roman people and made sure to project a message of transformation for the Roman Empire while connecting the structure back to its republican roots. Her act of conveying those messages simultaneously promoted the potential prosperity of a new beginning and the preservation of traditional Roman virtues.

Piranesi regarded the fragments of Roman ruins as keys to the past, but he knew that humanity would never be able to understand these pieces of antiquity in all their complexities. For instance, above the archway, a brick-covered patch is evidence of a changing structure, but modern historians – like Piranesi himself in the past – are left to wonder what the ruins truly looked like. Utilizing the keys of insight that he had in combination with his architectural knowledge and artistic ability, Piranesi appreciated the monuments as they were visible to eighteenth-century citizens. He used his etchings to convey messages to those who consumed his art and created the Internal View of the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia etching to show Romans what had become of the city. Piranesi – perhaps unknowingly – echoes Octavia’s message, providing a connection between past and present. While Octavia communicated a message of prosperity, Piranesi imparted a message of nostalgia and a desire for the return of Rome’s former grandeur. His dramatization of Roman relics almost criticizes what the city has become, yet the charm of said dramatization shows his appreciation for the culture and inspires others to visit and admire the rich history Rome has to offer.

Inscription in Italian 

1. Due Frontespizi interiori del detto Portico. 2. Arco, che sostiene il Frontespizio fatto per ristauro da Settimio Severo dopo l'incendio in luogo delle due Colonne, che lo reggevano 3. Colonne inferiori all’Atrio mezzo coperte nel muro con altri avanzi nelle cantine, le quali sostenevano del portico: agai Pescaria

English Translation by Andrew Gibson:

1. Two interior frontispieces of the sad Portico 2. Arch that supports the frontispiece made by Septimius Severus after the fire two columns which supported it. 3. Smaller columns from the atrium partly concealed in the walls along with other remnants in the cellars, which supported the sides of the Portico: today a fishery

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