Genova c. 19th century

Giorgio Sommer made this photograph of Genoa, Italy, sometime in the late 19th century. The image is structured by a stark contrast, with a dark foreground densely packed with trees and buildings, sharply juxtaposed against the expansive, light-filled harbor and sky. The composition invites a semiotic reading; the high vantage point and sepia tone evoke a sense of detachment, almost like an observation of a world neatly ordered. The rigid, formal elements—the grid-like arrangement of the city, the parallel lines of the harbor—suggest an imposed structure, a human endeavor to organize and dominate the natural landscape. Yet, the photograph's materiality, the soft, almost painterly quality of the sepia print, destabilizes this sense of control, introducing an element of romanticism. This interplay between form and texture creates a dialogue, not just about Genoa, but about the very act of seeing and representing the world. The photograph remains suspended between objective record and subjective interpretation.