View near Damas in Syria c. 19th century

Curator: "View near Damas in Syria" by Paul Jacob Laminit. It’s from the late 18th, early 19th century. What strikes you first? Editor: It feels very staged, almost like a theater backdrop. That castle looming in the distance... it’s so perfectly framed. Curator: True! The castle symbolizes power, and the dramatic landscape, perhaps, the challenges to that power? Water, of course, speaks to purification, renewal. Editor: Renewal? Maybe. Or maybe just a pretty picture for someone's parlor. But I do wonder about the artist’s perspective – were they really connecting with Syria? Curator: That’s the question, isn't it? Do symbols make something authentic? Food for thought.