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The first section shows the city in its global
dimension: in an abstract manner as the capital
of a geographical area, a point bearing relation
to transport networks and major geographical
accidents, and then, alongside this cartographic
vision, the equally intellectualised image of
the whole city as shown on planimetric maps.
Finally, and most importantly, Seville is contemplated
as a visual landmark on the landscape by means
of the many significant "views" that
have sought to portray the city and its most
distinctive sights.
The second section contemplates Seville as
it is revealed through the most immediate material
reality that constitutes the city and makes
it perceptible. Walls, streets and monuments
are toured by a hypothetical inhabitant or traveller,
who receives images of the most significant
urban topoi in a diachronic manner, the same
sights that are unfailingly described a thousand
and one times by visitors who leave a record
of their stay in the city. Most of the stereotypical
images of the city are featured in this section,
which seeks to decode their significance in
a neutral, objective manner.
The third section analyses images of the city
when it becomes the setting for an extraordinary
event, whether devotional or profane in nature,
with a view to highlighting Seville's exceptional
capacity to transform the real city into an
idyllic, ludic one. As a result, these ephemeral,
virtual celebrations have become some of its
most permanent, universal signs of identity.
The fourth section presents a selection of
images of the city in which an archaeologist
records the vestiges of the past, portraying
the venerable ruins or meticulously reproducing
isolated fragments of long-gone monuments. Also
included in this section are prints by historians
who undertook detailed studies of existing buildings
in order to spread knowledge of them or to restore,
renovate or reproduce them.
The final section includes engravings that
clearly portray the impression of the city that
was later to become the clichéd image
of Seville, forged precisely at a time when
it was in full decline. This view of a city
untouched by "progress" captures evocative
nuances of a society no longer existing in developed
Europe. The section not only portrays architectural
remains in all their decadent splendour, but
also focuses in equal measure on the lifestyles
and human behaviour of the inhabitants of an
obsolete yet fascinating city.
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