Disembarkment at Venice Under the Portico of the So-Called Colonia Building 1670

Curator: Melchior Küsel's "Disembarkment at Venice Under the Portico of the So-Called Colonia Building" captures a specific arrival point through precise etching. Editor: There's a strange mix of bustle and stillness. Like a stage set both elaborately constructed and strangely empty, even with all those figures. Curator: The portico suggests the power and wealth of Venice, doesn’t it? Yet the figures seem almost dwarfed by the architecture. Consider how the portico is adorned with classical motifs. Editor: Definitely opulent. And something about those figures peering out of the windows...they seem like ghosts in their own city, observing a scene already unfolding. Curator: I think it’s about how arrivals and departures weave themselves into the fabric of a city over time. Each individual’s journey contributing to the city’s continuous story. Editor: It’s a powerful image, this snapshot of arrival, made even more poignant knowing that Venice carries all of that history. It makes me wonder about those stories and where they might take us.