St. Mark's: southern portico c. 19th century

Editor: This is Thomas Goff Lupton’s "St. Mark's: southern portico." It's a stunning architectural print, so detailed and imposing. I'm curious, what stories do you think this image tells about Venice at the time? Curator: Well, look at the weight and grandeur of the architecture. It speaks to the power structures of Venice. But also consider the shadows, perhaps hinting at the socio-economic disparities lurking beneath the surface of opulent facades. What do you make of the deliberate choice to focus on the portico and not the people? Editor: That's interesting. Maybe it critiques the way history often focuses on buildings and rulers rather than the lived experiences of everyday Venetians. Curator: Precisely. And Lupton, by emphasizing the portico, invites us to question whose stories are being told and whose are being erased. Editor: I never thought about it that way. It makes me wonder about the lives of the people who walked through that portico. Curator: Art can be a powerful tool for uncovering and questioning those narratives.