Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian archaeologist, architect and graphic artist who lived in the 18th century (1720-1778). He left many drawings "from life" depicting Rome of his day. These drawings clearly show traces of the great destroyed civilization of the past.
In some of the drawings, sculptures are surprising - note how much more ordinary people the giants depicted on it are - just to match the grandiose buildings.
Promotional video: