Arch near Sorrent 1826

Editor: Ernst Fries’ pencil drawing, "Arch near Sorrent," created in 1826, has a delicate, almost ethereal quality. The architectural form is barely there, suggested by the lightest of lines. What structural relationships define the form? Curator: The beauty lies in the interplay of the positive and negative spaces and the textural contrast of light and shade. Look at the composition – how the artist uses hatching to create depth within the arch itself. What semiotic elements are at work? Editor: Semiotic elements? Is that about the visual language of the image? In that case, I'd suggest the arch as an opening seems to signify an opportunity to see. Also, there's not much other detailing on the image -- it mostly seems like the artist sought to focus only on the lines of the central structure. It's fascinating how such simple strokes of pencil convey form and depth. Curator: Precisely. Fries emphasizes line quality, moving from thin, barely perceptible marks to denser, more assertive strokes to describe the arch. He utilizes the stark whiteness of the page, exploiting the inherent materiality of the medium. Does that remind you of another structural movement? Editor: In a way, that reminds me of certain minimalist styles that leave significant amounts of bare canvas! However, that minimalism has a very different goal than this sketching exercise does... I suppose the artist wanted to get an essential shape down as swiftly as possible. Curator: Perhaps you are right in assessing its spontaneity. I would propose, nonetheless, to note how the lack of extraneous detail focuses our gaze on the inherent architectural qualities, such as form and opening, which I read as structural concerns, in line with a formalist mode of interpreting it. Editor: I now recognize that "negative space" is indeed essential. In leaving parts of the medium unmarked, Fries calls for us to consider how form is brought about by a relationship between presences and absences, much like what you described as "structuralist!"