Beeld van Friedrich I von Hohenlohe in de dom van Bamberg c. 1900 - 1920

This black and white photograph captures a sculpture of Friedrich I von Hohenlohe, found in Bamberg Cathedral, and made by an anonymous artist. Look at the way the light plays across the stone, accentuating every crease and fold in his robes. I wonder what the sculptor was thinking as they carved, day after day, slowly revealing the bishop's likeness from the solid stone. The folds in the robes cascading down, almost like the brushstrokes in a painting, each telling a story of its own. Notice the way the sculptor has captured a sense of weight and volume, the heavy fabric gathering around the figure. It reminds me of Giotto. His pursuit of volume, the way he built up form with colour and light. These conversations between artists that span centuries, with each one riffing off the ideas of the last. It's a reminder that art is never created in a vacuum, but rather a constant dialogue across time.