I took this photo at the Porta Nigra in Trier, a Roman city gate from the second century AD. You look into a massive stone interior from a wooden platform. Everything is built from dark, weathered blocks of sandstone. The architecture is robust and functional - row after row of arches and niches, stacked on top of each other in clean lines.
The colours are subdued: shades of grey, sallow brown, dull orange, with traces of oxidation or restoration here and there. The light is soft and natural. The opening you look through acts as a frame; your gaze is automatically led to the rhythm of the arches and the light at the end of the passage.
What is striking is the balance between order and decay. The construction is geometric, almost militarily precise, but the ravages of time are visible everywhere. Crumbling corners, cracks in the stone, discolouration. Everything breathes history.
The atmosphere is quiet and concentrated. As if time stands still for a moment here. No people, no noise - just stone, sky and emptiness. The sculpture forces you to look. You feel the power of the structure, but also its impermanence.
Hi!.. Read more…