Beeld van Friedrich I von Hohenlohe in de dom van Bamberg c. 1900 - 1920

This photograph captures the sculpture of Friedrich I von Hohenlohe in Bamberg Cathedral. It's a document of an object, yes, but it's also someone’s attempt to grasp something that time has already started to erode. The image itself is monochrome, it looks like it could have been created with charcoal or graphite. There are such fine gradations from light to dark that it’s easy to lose the edges of the form. The edges of the sculpture are swallowed by the architectural details in the background. Look closely, and you'll notice how the robes fall, almost liquid, pooling at his feet with an elegant softness. I wonder, does the facelessness of the photographer somehow mirror the anonymity of the sculpture's creator? It reminds me a little of the drawings of Philip Guston, where forms emerge from a sea of marks. Art becomes a way of embracing not knowing, of allowing for multiple readings and interpretations. It becomes an ongoing conversation across time and space.