Tour Magne at Nîmes c. 1600 - 1604

Curator: Looking at this image, what stands out for you? Editor: It feels very… fragile. Like it might crumble into dust at any moment. The tower has a definite feeling of ruin and abandonment, even with the group of people sketched at the bottom. Curator: Precisely. This pen and ink drawing captures the Tour Magne in Nîmes around 1600-1604. Gerard ter Borch the Elder sketched this landmark, it's held at the Rijksmuseum, a study sheet plucked from the artist's sketchbook, likely. The material quality, those brisk, utilitarian lines... tells of practical, preparatory work. Editor: A sketchbook... that explains the raw feel of it. The Tower itself almost takes on a phallic quality, a symbol perhaps of bygone Roman power, especially when positioned against these travelers below it. A testament to a vanished civilization, a commentary on transient glory. Curator: Or simply the physical labor required to quarry the stones and haul them to this height! Ter Borch’s attention to the structure itself speaks volumes. Notice the meticulous hatching that conveys the sheer weight and texture of the stone, the economic costs, the engineering innovation... Editor: I suppose I see something else in the arrangement of the human figures— a pilgrimage almost. As if approaching a sacred site. Maybe Ter Borch captured them with their heads adorned seeking meaning in the decay. The Tower persists; Roman power may be dead, yet its symbolic footprint, its echo reverberates. Curator: Maybe he also recorded the changing styles in garments and fashion of his era while preserving forever a building. I consider it an observation of human social structure from then with all classes portrayed and preserved in a personal visual notebook. Editor: An economic record or spiritual inquiry, one could make arguments for either! Ter Borch's simple lines capture a great amount of history. Curator: Indeed. I appreciate that through studying his production, we unveil something new, beyond the grand narratives of iconography. Editor: While understanding that, despite the age and shifting perspectives, certain symbolic elements maintain relevance across epochs. Fascinating.