Landschaft nahe Athen, rechts die Akropolis 1870

Ludwig Metz made this pencil drawing titled "Landschaft nahe Athen, rechts die Akropolis" to depict a landscape near Athens with the Acropolis. Metz, born in 1822, lived in an era defined by burgeoning European interest in classical antiquity. This piece reflects the 19th-century Western gaze on Greece, particularly the romanticized view of its ancient heritage. The Acropolis, a potent symbol of ancient Greek democracy and philosophy, takes center stage, representing the cultural and historical significance attributed to Greece by European scholars and artists. But what does it mean to depict this landscape, given the historical context of European imperialism and cultural appropriation? Consider how the focus on ancient ruins may overshadow the contemporary realities of the Greek people at the time. The drawing invites reflection on the power dynamics inherent in the act of observing and representing a culture from an external perspective. It asks us to consider whose stories are being told and whose are being left out of the frame.