Gipsmodellen voor beeldhouwwerken op het Palais du Louvre: links "La Sculpture" en rechts "La Peinture" door François Félix Roubaud c. 1855 - 1857

Editor: Here we have Edouard Baldus's photograph, "Gipsmodellen voor beeldhouwwerken op het Palais du Louvre..." which roughly translates to "Plaster models for sculptures on the Palais du Louvre...", taken around 1855-1857. The photograph shows plaster models representing Sculpture and Painting by François Félix Roubaud. I’m struck by how the sculptures seem to float on the page, almost like apparitions. What captures your attention most when you look at this, and how would you interpret this work? Curator: Ah, yes, Baldus! It's funny, isn’t it, how a photograph can give permanence to something so inherently transient like plaster models? For me, it's this layering of art forms - photography capturing sculpture - which in turn, represent art itself (sculpture and painting!). It is so meta! But the muted tones lend it a quiet solemnity; don't you think? I see ghosts of grand ambition, whisperings of the Louvre's artistic spirit caught mid-flight. Editor: I agree. The lack of context, their disconnection to the architecture, amplifies that spectral quality. What about the choice to photograph them separately like this? Curator: Separating them is curious, isn’t it? Perhaps Baldus wanted us to consider them as independent muses or facets of creativity. Or perhaps a little playful competition between sister arts? Which do you favor, sculpture or painting? Editor: I find both to be complementary… Perhaps Baldus intended this image to showcase both independently? It certainly has given me more to consider regarding the connection between these two artistic forms. Curator: Absolutely, that’s what I find great about art, whether it is a picture of an image or in person; art inspires, challenges, and asks us to rethink our interpretations!