Twee gezichten op Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore before 1898

Curator: This is a fascinating gelatin silver print dating from before 1898. Its title is “Twee gezichten op Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore,” which translates to “Two views of the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore." It offers us two distinct perspectives of Venice. Editor: It's immediately striking how the two images play against each other. The upper register, full of bustling ships, feels active and almost overflowing, whereas the lower image has this static calm about it. A real study in contrasts, visually. Curator: Absolutely. Considering the period, it’s likely this photograph emerged during a time when Venice was romanticized in photography as this floating city, ripe with artistic promise. We could consider how notions of Italian identity at this time are being constructed. Who is Venice for, and who is permitted to capture her beauty? Editor: Thinking about form, note how the light, though limited by the printing process, beautifully delineates each vessel and architectural detail. There’s an exquisite play of light on water, binding the images together. It is the tones that do all of the binding work. Curator: This also reminds us that Venice, for centuries a powerful republic, was experiencing social and political shifts as Italy unified in the latter half of the 19th century. Tourism increased and influenced artistic representation. You might also want to investigate, through its composition and framing, how this print, although depicting Venetian cultural heritage, subtly imposes an orientalist gaze onto the culture it documents. Editor: I see what you mean, there’s this romanticization happening within its visual organization. The photographic medium lends itself to documentation, sure. But let us talk about what is in the frame, how it’s exposed. It suggests that it still very much functions within an aesthetic framework, doesn't it? Curator: Indeed. Looking closely at art making from the late 19th century offers the opportunity to understand this colonial power at play. There is documentation, beauty and aesthetic preference, all combined into one printed frame, such as this. Editor: A city caught between its reflection and representation. It’s the balance of aesthetic decisions and indexical reality of the print. Very interesting!