Gevelornament van Oude Vest 72 te Leiden 1890 - 1920

This anonymous photograph captures a stone ornament from Oude Vest 72 in Leiden. Imagine the sculptor's hands on the stone, coaxing those chubby-cheeked faces and leafy fronds into being. What were they thinking, those long-ago makers, as they carved this piece? Maybe they were thinking of protection, a charm against bad luck. Each chip of stone, a little act of devotion. The texture is so important here, the rough grain of the stone worn smooth by time and weather. You can almost feel it, solid and cool, grounding this flight of fancy. It reminds me a bit of the gargoyles perched on old cathedrals, keeping watch. There is a connection between people across time. It's an ongoing conversation, this art thing. We build on what came before, riffing on old themes, trying to make something new. Painting, sculpture... it's all just a way of reaching out, leaving our mark, a tangible connection in a world of ghosts.