CHRISTOPH KELLER Christoph Keller, Introduction | Página 16

COLOSSEUM NOVUM, 2019
Colosseum Novum, 2019
Photogravure, unique
39,2 x 53,5 cm (unframed, 6 parts)
121,5 x 108,5 cm (mounted, unframed)
129,1 x 116,1 x 4,2 cm (framed)
(CK 274)
During his residency at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome,
Christoph Keller was invited to produce this work at the Istituto Centrale per la Graphica (National
Institute for the preservation of etching techniques). The artist used an experimental photo-engraving
process on copper plates, thus recalling the time and history of paper printmaking.
Photoengraving was widely used in the 20th century to produce halftone illustrations for
newspapers. A halftone, or halftone image, is an image comprised of discrete dots rather than
continuous tones. When viewed from a distance, the dots blur together, creating the illusion of
continuous lines and shapes.
Colosseum Novum is based on a photograph that the artist took inside the Colosseum in Rome.
The image, printed six times, superimposes and bridges different regimes of spectacle: From the
Roman games held in the monument during the antiquity to the modern setup of a wide screen for a
large-scale cultural event about to take place in the ruins.
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