Sokkel en een sculptuur van een leeuw van de San Marco in Venetië before 1885

Editor: Here we have "Sokkel en een sculptuur van een leeuw van de San Marco in Venetië", or "Base and a Sculpture of a Lion of San Marco in Venice", created before 1885 by Carl Heinrich Jacobi. It's a monochromatic print on what looks like aged paper, presented almost as a study. What do you find most compelling about it? Curator: I'm drawn to how this work captures the interplay between power, religion, and civic identity, particularly in relation to Venice's history. The Lion of Saint Mark wasn't just a decorative symbol; it represented Venetian power, its patronage of the Evangelist Mark, and its aspirations for dominance, especially maritime. Considering this, how do you view Jacobi's choice to isolate these architectural elements? Editor: I think extracting them, presenting them almost as specimens, detaches them from the grandeur of Venice and forces us to focus on their individual significance and texture. Curator: Exactly. And that is something many works attempted at that time. The display mimics the burgeoning archaeological surveys that defined power. By depicting these pieces as isolated studies, Jacobi indirectly participates in a discourse about Venice's declining power in the 19th century and reflects the period’s increasing interest in documenting and studying the past. It is worth considering, does isolating cultural symbols change how they're perceived or valued? Editor: I think it does. It highlights the artistry but perhaps diminishes the visceral impact of seeing them in situ. I've gained a new perspective on how context shapes our understanding of symbols. Curator: Agreed. And, hopefully, now you will question how museums do the same thing today when isolating and presenting these symbols in an institutional context.