Gezicht op de Spaanse trappen, de Piazza di Spagna en de Trinità dei Monti te Rome, Italië 1851 - 1900

Curator: Immediately, there's something timeless about this. The monochrome palette lends an air of classicism, almost sepia-toned nostalgia. What's catching my eye in this gelatin silver print, titled "Gezicht op de Spaanse trappen, de Piazza di Spagna en de Trinità dei Monti te Rome, Italië" – let’s just call it “Spanish Steps, Rome,” – is the grandeur, the way the steps seem to cascade like a river. Editor: Yes, there’s a real sense of controlled theatricality here. The repetition of the steps themselves act as a powerful symbol. Think of ladders to heaven, ascensions toward spiritual enlightenment— or at least to the Trinita dei Monti church. Also, that lone obelisk perched atop, feels… defiant? Curator: Defiant! I love that. It does strike an odd posture amongst all those baroque curves. But perhaps that's part of Rome's charm. It’s the unexpected jolt of geometry reminding us of the eternal colliding with fleeting beauty. Notice how even in this captured moment there are figures lounging on the lower walls. Rome invites everyone to just be, a sentiment which probably is just as true now as it was back when the photograph was taken, likely in the second half of the 19th century. Editor: They echo the very human act of repose in this overwhelmingly imposing cityscape, dwarfed by the scale. These cityscapes themselves echo our collective aspirations to transcend. We’re always building stairs and monuments, creating physical symbols of reaching toward something larger than ourselves. I also can't shake the interplay between shadow and light within the square itself, as it adds a dimension that plays between the immediate and the infinite. Curator: Indeed. Even though taken by an anonymous photographer, “Spanish Steps, Rome,” makes you ponder the very nature of cities, their visual language, and all that lingers just beyond the edge of the photograph. Editor: Beautiful. I think my journey up those metaphorical steps ends with more questions, as always.