[View of TABRIZ] 1840 - 1869

Luigi Pesce captured this view of Tabriz with a camera, creating a hazy, sepia-toned image where the architecture and figures blend almost seamlessly with the landscape. The composition is dominated by horizontal lines of the buildings and the ground, bisected by the vertical thrust of the city gate and the distant tower. Pesce plays with opacity, using it to flatten the depth of field and evoke a sense of timelessness. The light bleaches the details, turning the scene into a study of form rather than a detailed depiction of place. The figures standing near the gate are more suggestions than portraits, contributing to the picture’s structural rhythm. This photograph engages with orientalist themes popular at the time, but instead of exoticizing, it abstracts, using light and shadow to explore the essence of the scene. It invites us to consider how photography can alter our perceptions of reality, transforming a specific location into a meditation on light, form, and cultural representation.