Forum Romanum 1910

Karl Jensen's 'Forum Romanum' is a delicate dance of lines etched onto a plate, a reverie of ancient stones. Imagine Jensen, hunched over his plate, armed with burin and acid, channeling the ghosts of emperors and orators. Each tiny stroke a meditation on time and ruin. What was he thinking as he rendered the crumbling columns, the silent arches? Was he lost in the grandeur of Rome, or pondering its inevitable decay? Look at the way the light falls, soft and grey, across the skeletal remains of empire. The texture of the stone, the weight of history, all captured in this intricate web of lines. I love how a simple mark can speak volumes. It reminds me of Piranesi, of course, that master of architectural fantasy, but Jensen brings a Nordic sensibility, a quiet contemplation, to the scene. We artists, we're all in conversation, across centuries, across continents. Jensen speaks to Piranesi, and to us, whispering secrets of stone and memory.