Quartiere dei Sold di Pompei 19th-20th century

Giorgio Sommer captured this photograph of Quartiere dei Soldi in Pompeii using albumen silver print, a city frozen in time. The exposed brick and fragmented walls speak volumes. These are not just ruins; they are the remnants of a catastrophic event, a violent disruption in the continuum of life. Bricks laid bare. The configuration reminds us of a house of cards, one breath away from being scattered. Similar motifs of destruction and decay appear throughout art history, each bearing its own psychological weight. Consider the crumbling facades of Piranesi's etchings, and the bombed-out cities depicted in post-war photography. Each depicts a shared, collective memory of loss and impermanence. The image, therefore, is not simply a document of a place but a poignant reminder of our own mortality.