Fotoreproductie van een tekening, voorstellende een kapiteel met dierornamenten voor de Salle du Manège in het Palais du Louvre te Parijs before 1870

Edouard Baldus created this photogravure of a drawing of a capital with animal ornaments for the Salle du Manège in the Palais du Louvre in Paris. Although undated, it resonates with the 19th-century French ambition to capture and classify the nation’s cultural treasures through photography. Baldus, known for his architectural photography, here turns his lens to a decorative element imbued with symbolic meaning. Consider the choice of animal motifs. What do these animals signify in the context of French identity and power? The capital is not merely a structural component, but a statement of cultural values. This work raises questions about the relationship between art, power, and representation. Who gets to define and document cultural heritage, and whose stories are included or excluded in the process? While the photograph itself may seem neutral, it is deeply embedded in a complex web of historical, social, and political forces.