Wijwatervat in de Dom van Siena c. 1875 - 1900

Paolo Lombardi created this photograph of a stoup in the Siena Cathedral sometime between 1850 and 1890. Lombardi was part of a generation of photographers who documented Italian cultural heritage. This image captures a moment of cultural preservation, but through the selective lens of the photographer. The stoup, typically used for holy water, becomes an object of aesthetic contemplation, frozen in time. Consider the role of religious objects in shaping cultural identity. The rituals and traditions associated with such objects can be powerful markers of belonging, but also of exclusion. Lombardi’s photograph invites us to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in the act of documentation. What stories are being told, and whose perspectives are privileged? The photograph acts as a poignant reminder of the complex relationship between art, identity, and the narratives we construct about ourselves and others.