Udkast til facaden af S. Lorenzo, Firenze 1731

Curator: What an imposing design. This is Marcus Tuscher’s “Udkast til facaden af S. Lorenzo, Firenze,” a proposed façade for the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, rendered in ink, likely around 1731. Editor: It does have a certain monumentality. The symmetry is the first thing I notice, and those two prominent towers flank what seems to be the main structure with impressive balance, almost daring you to question its stability, or its maker’s intentions, but I do. Curator: Stability is interesting to consider, as ultimately, the design was rejected. Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy was already incorporated, posing quite a challenge to redesign the façade. Considering Tuscher was working for the Danish Royal Court, can we consider the intersection between religion and politics at play here? It seems rather relevant, don't you think? Editor: Relevant certainly, but I wonder more about the sheer labor involved in such a structure, regardless of its political symbolism. The extraction of the stone, the cutting, the transportation... And the societal implications for those doing it all. One almost needs to think about scale; how it influences the building itself. Curator: True, it makes you consider what narratives were actively being erased as well. And for what social gain? This kind of drawing becomes crucial as historical evidence, documenting not only a design, but the aesthetic values of that historical period, and also the power dynamics in society itself. Editor: Precisely. The design may be divine, but the physical production… that is inherently material and bound by human and environmental limitations. This clash highlights just how the concept could be so powerful but, remain so removed from practical reality. Curator: I'm left considering the many layers of unrealized potential and all that we project on works that didn’t come to be. What it signifies. Editor: Yes, an elegant, yet ultimately, unrealized material proposition which reminds us that ideas and drawings alone cannot dictate the nature of the world around us.