Tempel van Antoninus en Faustina op het Forum Romanum te Rome, Italië 1865 - 1878

Curator: Today, we're looking at an albumen print made between 1865 and 1878 by Altobelli and Ci, titled "Temple of Antoninus and Faustina in the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy." Editor: It strikes me immediately as a study in contrasts, both stark and muted. The pale sky throws the weighty architecture into sharp relief, and I wonder what lives unfolded in this space. Curator: Notice how the fluted columns, perfectly aligned, establish a clear rhythm that moves our eyes across the facade. The image plane creates a certain sense of depth, leading us toward the church rising above the ancient temple. Editor: And that’s where it gets complicated, doesn’t it? The temple, dedicated to a deified emperor and empress, was then repurposed into a Christian church. What does it mean when one power structure literally builds itself upon the ruins of another? The Forum becomes this loaded space where different empires collide. Curator: Indeed. The image also showcases a mastery of photographic technique. The sharp focus brings out the texture of the stone, the shadows defining the architectural forms. Editor: Look at the ordinary Romans walking by the temple! Do they notice the ways that the physical reminders of Roman power and divinity were subsumed by later religious authority? Curator: These figures add a sense of scale and emphasize the temple’s grandeur. Perhaps they also remind us that the Forum was more than just a religious space. It was also a center of public life, of political discourse and social interaction. Editor: Yes, exactly! It reminds us of power and of life – about empires won and lost, Gods that become gods no more, and those ever-present Romans going on with their day. A meditation on cycles and continuities. Curator: For me, this print represents a beautiful synthesis of history, art, and technology, revealing layers of meaning within a single frame. Editor: Ultimately, it urges us to remember the echoes of other stories still reverberating from these stones. It is never only about visual perfection but power.