Florence 1923

Editor: This is J.S. Gablonski’s "Florence," an etching from 1923. The texture is quite intricate, like a memory struggling to surface. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: Oh, the Ponte Vecchio! Or, at least, that's what it whispers to my soul. There's a dreamlike quality to the way it's rendered, isn’t there? Like trying to recall a beloved place from a fading photograph. What do you make of the water’s surface, that shimmer Gablonski captures? Editor: It’s almost vibrating! But the detail in the buildings is so precise. Is that contrast typical for etchings of this period? Curator: Not necessarily *typical,* darling. But etching is all about control and release, isn't it? A tight line against the dissolving haze. I wonder if it speaks to Gablonski's own experience of Florence? Did he feel a tension between the concrete reality and the seductive romance of the place? Editor: So it's not just a picture, but maybe a feeling he's trying to convey? Curator: Precisely! It’s the *felt* experience of Florence, translated onto a plate, bitten by acid, and finally pressed onto paper. Makes you want to wander through the streets, doesn’t it? Search for your own personal Florence! Editor: Absolutely! I definitely see more depth here than I initially did. Curator: Me too! Art reveals more, the more you look.