Untitled c. 20th century

This untitled image, of unknown date, made by an anonymous artist, really gets me thinking about time. I imagine the artist setting up their camera, framing the shot of these ancient ruins, trying to capture the weight of history in a single image. Look at those columns, standing tall against the sky, silent witnesses to centuries of change, their once crisp, white stone surfaces turned to a pale, sepia tone as time has passed. I wonder about the people who built them, what they were thinking as they raised each stone, and the photographer, framing them in their lens. Each column is worn and weathered, yet they stand in formation. The sepia tone evokes a sense of nostalgia, as if the image is fading, slipping away like a memory. There’s something haunting about it, too, like a ghost of the past refusing to be forgotten. Artists are always in conversation with the past, borrowing ideas, echoing themes, and challenging conventions. This act of looking back helps them see the present in a new light, and perhaps glimpse a path toward the future.