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Firenze, Veduta dei Ponti

Giacomo Brogi

Artwork Details

Firenze, Veduta dei Ponti
1875-1890
Giacomo Brogi
albumen print on paper
19 1/8 x 25 1/8 in. (48.58 x 63.82 cm);22 1/16 in x 28 3/16 in (56.04 cm x 71.6 cm);19 3/16 in x 25 3/16 in (48.74 cm x 63.98 cm)
Gift of Howard and Margaret Bond
1993/2.60

Description

Subject Matter:

Photographed from an elevated position, this image depicts a scenic view of the Arno River which runs through the Italian city of Florence. The river is spanned by three bridges that are supported with wide, graceful arches. The two in the distance are uncovered, while the one in the foreground, the Ponte Vecchio, is covered with an assortment of shingled medieval structures which form a jumbled, yet orderly, geometry. Extending from the lower right of the frame, running along the banks of the river and then above the length of the Ponte Vecchio, the Vasari Corridor forms a second-tiered bridge. The famed architectural element once provided a passage for the powerful family of the Medici to traverse the city from their palace on the Western side of the city to the Palazzo Vecchio on the East. The scene is devoid of pedestrians, and the reflection of the bridge is clearly legible in the placid water below. The otherwise medieval appearance of the city is disrupted by the length of four telegraph wires, which are stretched diagonally across the river.  The warmth of the albumen print emphasizes the luminous sunlight washing over the scene below.

Physical Description:

This image depicts a scenic view of three bridges spanning a river that runs through the medieval city of Florence.

Usage Rights:

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