Ruïnes van de Villa Adriana te Tivoli before 1907

This photograph by Edizione Brogi captures the ruins of the Villa Adriana in Tivoli. I find myself imagining the act of photographing this scene—the positioning of the camera, the careful arrangement of the composition, the patient waiting for the perfect light to filter through the decaying structure. I can almost feel the weight of history pressing down, a melancholic resonance of past lives and vanished empires. The textures of the brickwork are so palpable. What was Brogi thinking when they chose to immortalize this scene? Did they feel a sense of loss, a reverence for what once was? It reminds me that artists are always in conversation with each other across time, riffing off the work that’s come before, discovering new ways of seeing and thinking about the world. It’s this ongoing exchange that keeps art alive, full of ambiguity and uncertainty, and open to endless interpretations.