Gezicht op de Pont-Saint-Landry 1631 - 1691

Israel Silvestre etched this view of the Pont-Saint-Landry in Paris, capturing a bustling cityscape. Bridges, like the Pont-Saint-Landry, have long served as powerful symbols. Historically, bridges are more than mere crossings, they connect different realms, the mundane and the spiritual, and their construction often carries profound symbolic weight. One sees this archetype echoed through the ages, from the Roman Pontifex Maximus, the “bridge-builder” between humanity and the divine, to the mythic Bifröst in Norse cosmology, a rainbow bridge linking Midgard and Asgard. In this etching, the bridge symbolizes not just physical connection, but also the flow of commerce and culture, embodying the spirit of Paris as a central nexus. This symbol reminds us that progress is not linear, but cyclical, and we must look to the past to truly understand the present.