Twee afbeeldingen van dekstenen van graven in de San Marco in Venetië before 1885

This print by Carl Heinrich Jacobi depicts two grave slabs from San Marco in Venice. The dominant feature here is the stark contrast between the dark, textured surfaces of the stones and the bright, blank space of the paper surrounding them. This contrast emphasizes the materiality of the stone. Each slab is covered in dense inscriptions, their letterforms acting as a kind of abstract pattern. The arrangement of these texts creates a visual rhythm that invites the viewer to consider the relationship between language and form. The inscriptions on the slabs are not merely informative but serve as an integral part of the artwork's composition. The lack of context and the way the slabs are presented—isolated and decontextualized—encourages a focus on the formal qualities of the stones themselves. This abstraction leads to a meditation on the nature of historical memory. By drawing our attention to the graphic qualities of the inscriptions, Jacobi prompts us to decode and contemplate the intersection of text, texture, and time.