Tempel van Apollon in Delphi before 1910

Frédéric Boissonnas captured this photograph of the Temple of Apollon in Delphi, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. The black and white tones give the scene a timeless quality, a sense of history etched in shades of gray. The texture of the ancient stones is palpable, each block seems to tell its own story. The way the light hits the ruins, creates a beautiful contrast between the rough surfaces and the smooth sky, as if the ruins are a puzzle of light and shadow. I am drawn to how the individual stones are placed - they look like how I place individual marks on the canvas! Looking at this image makes me think about time, about how things change and yet stay the same. It reminds me of Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" or some of the land art of the 60's - these artists had an appreciation for the earth and how it shifts over time. What is art but an ongoing conversation, across the ages?