Vuurtoren van Alexandrië c. 1606 - 1656

Curator: Isn't it wild to imagine light piercing through the ancient world? I’m looking at this engraving of the Lighthouse of Alexandria; it kind of miniaturizes a giant, literally turning the "great" into the granular. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is its quaintness. There’s this tiny, almost toylike, rendition of such a famed, towering structure; more an exercise in illustrative storytelling, than technical accuracy. I feel transported! Curator: Absolutely, Josua van den Enden crafted this sometime between 1606 and 1656. It’s a cityscape rendered in ink using engraving techniques, probably meant for widespread distribution. Think early postcards, hawking historical splendors. Editor: Exactly! It speaks volumes about the power structures embedded even in reproductions. Consider who could even *see* this, and *own* this representation of world wonder, a literal commodification of cultural heritage in the baroque period! Curator: Oh, I dig that perspective! You can almost hear the rustling of merchants trading these images along with silks and spices. The way it depicts Alexandria’s harbor bustling with tiny ships… it is idealized yet pragmatic. And it gives an idea of how ancient achievements continued to fascinate. Editor: But it’s that "Pharos" inscription that’s really telling. More than an informative label, it functions almost as a brand, legitimizing an imagined space more than portraying tangible reality, in some respects. It evokes the idea of that wonder, that legend, that is probably a bit separated from reality, by then. Curator: Yes, a sort of Baroque remix of the ancient world! And in the small confines of that engraving… there’s an outsize reminder of the stories and structures humanity creates, and continues to reinvent. I am fascinated. Editor: Fascinating is correct! For me it underscores the politics always underlying aesthetic appreciation and artistic consumption throughout the years. Art in any of its shapes tells stories and reflects times!