Fotoalbum met stadsgezichten van Rotterdam c. 1880 - 1900

This album cover, crafted anonymously, presents a window into how visual symbols carry and transform meaning. The cover is adorned with stylized floral and foliate motifs interlaced in a golden arabesque, a pattern echoing classical and Renaissance designs found in painted panels. Here, these motifs serve a decorative purpose but, if we trace their lineage, we see they once held deeper symbolic weight. The foliate designs remind us of the acanthus leaves decorating Roman temples. In time, such motifs have been passed down through history, stripped of their sacred origins. The album's cover then becomes a palimpsest, with layers of cultural memory. The past echoes into the present. We witness an enduring human impulse to decorate, a drive rooted in our subconscious desire to imbue objects with beauty. This album cover engages us on an emotional level, connecting us to a shared visual history that transcends time.