Gezicht op de Riva degli Schiavoni met op de voorgrond een pilaar met de leeuw van Venetië c. 1860 - 1890

This photograph, "Gezicht op de Riva degli Schiavoni met op de voorgrond een pilaar met de leeuw van Venetië", was created by Giorgio Sommer, an Italian photographer of German origin, during a time when photography was capturing and shaping perceptions of places and cultures. Here, we see the Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, anchored by a pillar topped with the Lion of Venice, a potent symbol of the city's power and identity. What does it mean to capture an image of a place so steeped in history and symbolism? Sommer, an outsider himself, documents this iconic scene, but through whose eyes are we seeing it? Consider the figures populating the scene, their presence, and their relationship to the space. What stories are being told, and whose perspectives are included or excluded in this visual narrative? This photograph invites us to reflect on Venice's layered history and the complex dynamics of identity, representation, and power. It captures a moment in time, but it also prompts us to consider how places are constructed, perceived, and remembered through the lens of those who document them.