Straatgezichten te Rome, met het Colosseum en Piazza del Popolo 1936 - 1939

This is a page from an album of black and white photographs, Straatgezichten te Rome, met het Colosseum en Piazza del Popolo, by Berti Hoppe. Here we have a set of urban scenes in contrasting scales, all tightly packed together. I can't help but think of Kurt Schwitters' collages, of odds and ends that might have been discarded, but are rescued and brought together to make a new kind of sense. The composition is a bit like a map, and the jagged edges of the photographs create a sense of vibration, almost as if they are buzzing on the page. Each image, with its unique perspective and texture, begs to be explored in detail. The muted greyscale palette gives the work a sense of timelessness, as if these scenes could be from any era. This feels like a dialogue between memory and observation. The way the artist assembles these photographs feels like a conversation between time and place.