Toegangsportaal van een pand aan Dorotheagasse 2 te Wenen before 1894

This photograph captures the entrance portal of a building on Dorotheagasse 2 in Vienna. Above the doorway, we see figures and intricate carvings, common in the architecture of its time, symbolizing status and cultural aspiration. The arch, a fundamental motif here, goes back to ancient Rome, representing power and transition, and is reborn here. These figures remind us of classical statues, echoing ideals of beauty and order but now adapted to adorn a modern facade. This adaptation is a deliberate act, a reaching back into history to legitimize and ennoble the present. The tension between the classical motifs and their contemporary application embodies a psychological yearning, a desire to connect with a glorious past. This doorway, therefore, is not merely an entrance but a portal through time. A powerful symbol in the cyclical return and reinterpretation of cultural forms.