Italiensk kirke 1745

Michael Fosie created this etching, "Italiensk kirke," sometime in the late 18th century. This was an era defined by the Enlightenment's focus on reason, coupled with burgeoning colonial expansion and social stratification. Fosie, working within a society that was becoming increasingly globalized, offers us a glimpse into how European artists viewed and interpreted foreign landscapes and cultures. The church itself is depicted with a kind of detached precision, yet it is the figures in the foreground which give us pause. They seem to be part of the landscape, anonymous, perhaps laborers, their individual stories subsumed by the grandeur of the architecture. There is an emotional distance in the image, and the people appear as almost incidental to the scene. This work prompts us to consider the power dynamics inherent in representation and to reflect on whose stories are told, and whose are erased, in the making of art and history.