The study of more than 3 000 death inventories drawn up by Roman notaries between 1628 and 1732 gives an insight into the social condition of the holders of paintings, stamps and statues, but also the purpose they sought by bringing together such objects: affirmation of a religious faith, an interest in history or distant counties, a desire to pay tribute to such a character, or merely passion to collect, like the intendent Bégon, who for years has been administering generality since Rochefort and employed artists and artisans from which the notable Roman people could benefit. In this world of erudits and collectors, whose importance is astonished, a place must be given to the author of the mutus Liber, a mute book of alchemistry, published in the Rochelle in 1677, which teaches the construction of the Grand Work in fifteen engraved boards, and in Elie Richard, who draws and commends two hundred aquarelles and gouaches — a kind of curiosity practice — with no purpose other than a tribute to his father. A comparison with other cities would be interesting. Flouret Jean. Images in the Roman life (1628-1732). In: The power of the image. Acts of the 132th National Congress of Historical and Scientific Societies, Images and Imaging, Arles, 2007. Paris: CTHS Editions, 2012 pp. 91-102. (Acts of the National Congress of Historical and Scientific Societies, 132-10)