Piazza di Spagna at Naples 1681

Editor: This is Melchior Küsel’s "Piazza di Spagna at Naples," an etching. It’s quite small but packed with figures. What strikes me is the contrast between the bustling foreground and the ship looming in the background. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It makes me consider Naples as a critical port city. The Piazza di Spagna was a hub, a site of constant negotiation between local customs and global exchange. Notice how Küsel renders the figures – are they individuals, or types? Editor: More like types, I think. They almost seem to be performing. Curator: Exactly! And that performance speaks to the theatricality of power. The ship represents global power, while the figures showcase the local social order, potentially masking underlying tensions. What does this tell us about whose narrative is being centered? Editor: That's a great point; it makes me reconsider the image as a statement about social hierarchies. Curator: Precisely. It encourages us to look beyond the picturesque and interrogate the power dynamics at play.