Vermeende graftombe van Julia Capulet in Verona c. 1851 - 1900

Curator: This gelatin silver print, dating from sometime between 1851 and 1900, is titled "Vermeende graftombe van Julia Capulet in Verona"—alleged tomb of Juliet Capulet in Verona. Editor: The composition evokes a ruinous atmosphere. The sepia tones add to the somber mood. A heavy stone structure looms, stark against the fragmented brickwork. Curator: The use of photography as a medium here is fascinating, as it blurs the line between documentation and fabrication. The gelatin-silver process itself would have been quite new at the time. Who were the laborers that extracted, transported, and carved these stones, then later posed as tourists for scale and narrative effect in photos such as this one? Editor: What lingers with me are the scattered architectural fragments. These truncated columns and bases seem deliberately placed, transforming the scene into a theater of memory, highlighting how relics are assembled into a powerful symbol, that of the tragic heroine and enduring loss. Curator: But does this 'tomb' exist independent of the industry around it? Or has the cultural need for Juliet's tomb constructed its very material presence, a theater perhaps not so different than how photographic plates get chemically staged? It makes you wonder how tourism has shaped not just our view, but the place itself. Editor: Precisely, it is the layering of these narratives which I believe truly defines it: we see a real space infused with symbolic meaning, mediated by a photographic representation and fueled by romantic longing and the cult of the ancient. The cultural weight associated to tragic romance can be viscerally sensed and the photograph as object serves as both mediator and testament. Curator: Right, these textures and this tonality that suggest deep time. I had a sense that this staged tableau and picture may be, in itself, a means to keep this cultural product alive through labor and imagination. It raises questions about how objects are brought into the sphere of historical record and cultural consumption. Editor: And from the visual echo chamber which it emanates, we sense there remains yet more layers to unpack and reflect upon as our perspectives broaden and deepen.