Gezicht op een gondelwerkplaats aan het Squero di San Trovaso in Venetië before 1898

This photograph captures a gondola workshop along the Squero di San Trovaso in Venice. The image is dominated by water, gondolas and, rising above the surrounding buildings, a church tower. These gondolas, unique to Venice, are more than mere boats; they are potent symbols of the city's identity and history. Consider the gondola's black color: it is a visual echo of Charon's ferry, transporting souls across the river Styx. In Venice, these vessels ferry people through a labyrinth of canals. The church tower looms in the background, like a lighthouse, a beacon of stability in a world of constant change. This constant tension between movement and stillness, between the earthly and the divine, is a powerful force that engages viewers on a deep, subconscious level. Venice itself is, after all, a city built on water, a place where the solid ground seems to shift and sway. Just as the gondola glides through the canals, so too does culture and memory ebb and flow, resurfacing and taking on new forms in different contexts.