The Glory that was Rome
Once again, no documentary value…
This copperplate, attributed to the Dutch painter and engraver Adriaen van de Venne, dates from around 1630 and illustrates how genteel Dutch illustrators pictured the decadence that was Imperial Rome. Based on earlier prints (like the one below, which I have been unable to identify), the gladiators adding a splash of crimson to the debauchery are armed with bucklers and rapiers.
Earlier visions
