Plate 31: view of the column of Trajan, shown with its pedestal dug out from the earth, surrounded by buildings at the base of the Quirinal Hill, Rome, from the series 'Ruins of the antiquity of Rome, Tivoli, Pozzuoli, and other places' (Vestigi della antichità di Roma, Tivoli, Pozzvolo et altri luochi)

Renaissance representation of classical ruins was a symbol of antiquity, enlightenment, and lost knowledge. Ruins spoke to the passage of time. The greatest subject for ruin artists was the overgrown and crumbling Classical Rome remains. Forum and the Colosseum, Pantheon, and the Appian Way. Initially, art representations of Rome were realistic, but soon the imagination of artists took flight. Roman ruins were scattered around the city, but frustrated artists began placing them in more pleasing arrangements. Capriccio was a style of imaginary scenes of buildings and ruins.

The Dutch Golden Age was a period from 1581 to 1672, when the Netherlands experienced the "Dutch Miracle", transcended to the foremost maritime and economic power. In 1568, the Seven Provinces started a rebellion against Philip II of Spain, leading to the Eighty Years' War with Spain and the Thirty Years' War between other European superpowers. Protestants moved from the southern to the northern Netherlands, many settled in Amsterdam, transforming a port town into one of the most important commercial centers in the world by 1630. In addition to the migration of Protestants, there were also influxes of refugees who had previously fled from religious persecution, particularly Sephardi Jews from Portugal and Spain, and Protestants from France. Catholics moved in the other direction - to the southern provinces, modern Belgium. North quickly gained the highest literacy rates in Europe, an abundance of capital, the largest merchant fleet in Europe. The Dutch dominated trade in the Baltic Sea, between China and Japan, and with the English colonies in North America. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was the first multinational corporation, financed by shares that established the first modern stock exchange. The Bank of Amsterdam, the first central bank, was established in 1609. The Dutch Golden Age is the art period dominanted by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jacob van Ruisdael, and Frans Hals. Some notable artistic styles and trends include Haarlem Mannerism, Utrecht Caravaggism, the School of Delft, the Leiden fijnschilders, and Dutch classicism. 1672 is called a disaster year" when the Dutch Republic was attacked by England, France, Münster, and Bavaria. The invading armies quickly defeated most of the Dutch States Army and conquered part of the Republic.

Originally, the site of the Roman Forum was a lake where waters from the surrounding hills drained. Because of its location, sediments from the erosion of the surrounding hills have been raising the level of the Forum floor for centuries. The low-lying wetland of the Forum was drained in the 7th century BC with the building of the Cloaca Maxima. Roman Forum developed gradually, over many centuries. Forum's long dimension extended from the foot of the Capitoline Hill to that of the Velian Hill. The Forum included a square, the buildings facing it, and, sometimes, an additional area (the Forum Adjectum) extending southeast as far as the Arch of Titus. The Forum functioned as an open-air market but eventually outgrew its marketplace role: political speeches, civil trials, and other public affairs dominated the Forum. An important function of the Forum was to serve as the culminating venue for the Triumphs. Victorious generals entered the city by the western Triumphal Gate (Porta Triumphalis) and circumnavigated the Palatine Hill (counterclockwise) before proceeding from the Velian Hill down the Via Sacra and into the Forum. In 600 BC Forum area was paved for the first time. The earliest basilicas (large, aisled halls) were introduced to the Forum in 184 BC by Marcus Porcius Cato, which began the process of "monumentalizing" the site. In the 80s BC, major work was done on the Forum including the raising of the plaza level by almost a meter and the laying of permanent marble paving stones. During early Imperial times, the economic and judicial business transferred away from the Forum. In the 5th Century AD Rome's population fell from 750,000 to 250,000. The populated areas contracted to leave Forum more or less intact. On 1 August 608, the Column of Phocas, a Roman monumental column, was erected. This proved to be the last monumental addition made to the Forum. By the 8th century, the Forum was surrounded by Christian churches taking the place of the abandoned temples falling apart at that time. During the Middle Ages, its location was called the "Campo Vaccino" or "cattle field." The structures of the Forum were dismantled and used to build towers and castles within the local area, the site became a dumping ground and a quarry for new buildings including the new Saint Peter's Basilica. The papal authorities eventually demolished many medieval structures on the site, to reveal and better display the ancient monuments. The Roman Forum has been a source of inspiration for artists for centuries.

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