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Firenze – Il Carro del Sabato Santo

Carlo Brogi

Artwork Details

Firenze – Il Carro del Sabato Santo
1881-1896
Carlo Brogi
albumen print on paper
7 3/4 in x 9 3/4 in (19.68 cm x 24.77 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 3/8 in (36.51 cm x 49.21 cm)
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. W. Howard Bond
1986/1.150

On Display

Not currently on display

Description

Subject Matter:

This photograph depicts a scene in the Italian city of Florence during a festive procession. In front of a line of buildings with windows and balconies is a crowd of men wearing dark suits. Towering over the crowd is an ornate wooden cart, its sides festooned with white flowers and topped with a crown. Harnessed to the cart are four white oxen, who stand still next to their drivers. The procession has halted for the photograph; the crowd of spectators and policemen face the photographer. The cart is the Cart of the Holy Saturday, a Florentine tradition in which this cart is drawn through the city center to its cathedral, the famed Santa Maria del Fiore. Laden with fireworks, the procession culminates when the cart’s arsenal is ignited before the doors of the cathedral, showering the piazza with an explosive display. The sharp clarity of the camera lens makes this image rich with visual information and details: the shop signs, jacket buttons, and stoic expressions of the bystanders are all easily legible. The stillness and blank expressions of the crowd and the monumental, mausoleum-like cart lend the image an eerie sense of silence and mystery.

Physical Description:

This photograph depicts a procession of a large, ox-drawn cart covered in flowers in an Italian city. Gathered around the cart are a group of dark-suited men.  

Usage Rights:

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