Gezicht op de haven van Trani 1778

Curator: Ah, this etching and pen-ink drawing, "View of the Harbor of Trani," takes us back to 1778, through the eyes of Louis Ducros. It's part of the Rijksmuseum collection. What are your first impressions? Editor: A serene stillness. The tones are so muted, almost monochrome, giving it a dreamlike quality. It’s a little melancholic, perhaps? The buildings are like fading memories on the shore, all soft edges. Curator: Absolutely, the muted palette and precise lines are characteristic of Neoclassical art, right? There's a focus on order and clarity that speaks to the artistic and political climate of the late 18th century, as the artist is trying to record this specific location. Editor: Yes, but I also see the pre-romanticist artistic current. The architecture may suggest stability and timelessness but it's rendered so delicately. What does Trani mean to Ducros himself, you wonder? Was it the site of particular moments? Curator: Well, we can safely assume that this harborscape might also portray commercial networks or even power structures between harbor and mainland. What is interesting is that Louis Ducros did travel widely in Italy in this exact period. Editor: It makes you want to time-travel. I’d love to stand exactly where Ducros stood, feel the air, hear the sounds. What a thought it must have been to decide this moment needs to be immortalized in art. It has such a sense of fleeting time. Curator: A fleeting moment captured with a distinct style rooted in the aesthetics of its time, but resonating with us now through its enduring beauty, and even sadness if you like! Editor: Well, for me, it is always like glimpsing a soul when gazing at art and this feels like glimpsing the artist's and Trani’s souls somehow entwined. I feel it in my gut, just like Ducros must have felt it too!