Gezicht op het Colosseum in Rome c. 1860 - 1865

Curator: Sobering. That's the first word that pops into my head. Looking at this image, I am aware of so much history that just the Colosseum seems to contain. Editor: Indeed. Here we have Lorenzo Suscipi's gelatin-silver print, "Gezicht op het Colosseum in Rome," dating from somewhere between 1860 and 1865. Curator: It’s the light that really gets to me, it is muted, almost drained. The entire print is sepia-toned, like memory fading. Editor: That monochromatic treatment certainly emphasizes the geometrical perfection and stark composition that draws my attention, with all those carefully captured classical orders and receding planes. You might describe it as realistic, but in its rigid formality, I’m almost inclined to see a precursor to modernist architectural photography. Curator: It’s funny, you see modernist precision, and I see just the weight of time. That crumbling facade, the fields pushing right up against it... it reminds me of poems, Shelley’s "Ozymandias" particularly. Power doesn't last, even if we build monuments to it. Editor: An astute association. I appreciate your attention to the symbolic resonance between text and image. However, let's consider Suscipi's technique here. The albumen silver print allows for this remarkable depth of field, the detail remaining consistent from the nearest rooftops to the distant walls of the Colosseum. He makes full use of its capabilities. Curator: And yet, isn’t it precisely that relentless clarity that contributes to this feeling of decay? It is exposed with such sharp detail and yet this detail seems… muted in emotional resonance. I find it terribly evocative, to have this sharp yet emotionally ambiguous photograph to examine the passage of time with such clarity. Editor: A compelling contradiction, yes! Suscipi leaves the viewer in a strange spot then—both close to, and distant from the ruins. A formal quality—revealing historical meaning—that I think is at its most powerful in the medium of photography. Curator: Ultimately a dialogue emerges between form and representation. That is what I will think of now as I look at other cityscapes!