Binnenplaats van het Campo Santo te Pisa 1858 - 1893

Editor: This is "Binnenplaats van het Campo Santo te Pisa," a photograph taken between 1858 and 1893 by Alfredo Noack. Looking at the gelatin silver print, I'm immediately struck by the imposing architecture. It feels incredibly still and quiet, almost dreamlike. What can you tell me about this photograph? Curator: It does have that almost hushed feeling, doesn’t it? This photograph is like stepping into a memory. For me, it whispers tales of history and contemplation. I imagine Noack felt the same, being drawn to capture not just the building itself, but the atmosphere, the almost tangible presence of time. Look at the light, how it dances along the colonnades. Don’t you think it suggests a journey, perhaps, through life and beyond? What sort of feelings arise when you examine it? Editor: It does have a sort of symbolic effect. The symmetry is definitely powerful and, yes, makes me feel as if there were two opposing forces in the scene, drawing the eye inwards. Is that what Noack was going for, do you think? Curator: Perhaps! It might also be an attempt to control that space, if even through art, rather than architecture itself. Though with a place so old and profound, there’s bound to be some kind of meditation on mortality whether intended or not. After all, how do *you* control what a scene suggests? Editor: Good point! It’s all quite suggestive, and, looking again, rather thought-provoking. It sounds like a fruitful start to a longer visit! Curator: Absolutely. Let’s move on. I wonder what whispers the next piece will hold.