Cathedrale de Chartres, Côté Occidental, Porte Latérale de Droite, XIIe Siècle (Chartres Cathedral, West Side, Right Side Door, XII Century) c. 1857

Curator: Looking at this print by Charles Nègre, taken around 1857, we see a photograph of the Chartres Cathedral, specifically the west side's right door, which dates back to the 12th century. Editor: Wow, it’s like staring into a whisper from the past. The detail! It feels impossibly grand and a little bit haunted, doesn't it? So much texture in what must be ancient stone. Curator: Nègre was working at a time when photography was still relatively new. He, alongside other photographers, documented architectural monuments. This photograph shows a doorway laden with Romanesque sculpture—figures tightly packed, telling biblical stories in stone relief. This photograph would have allowed greater appreciation of the skill involved, more usually understood through drawings at this time. Editor: Exactly! All those figures seem almost piled on top of each other, but you can also see that the photograph lets light and shadow play across everything. There's something really beautiful about the contrast of light and dark here. It reminds me of that feeling you get when you enter a big old cathedral, that hush and feeling of history folding around you. Curator: That play of light, of course, would have held symbolic weight during the time when the Cathedral was constructed; but let’s consider Nègre and his role in depicting that door in this way. Architecture served a social purpose, of course, and was also harnessed in this photograph as part of the national drive at this point in time to preserve French history and identity. Editor: So Nègre is not just pointing and shooting – he's making choices about how to portray Chartres, shaping our understanding of this imposing monument even now. This photograph speaks volumes. The light and shadow seem to be telling their own silent story – what it might feel like, as the everyman or woman, to go through those very doors. I love it when an image invites you in like that. Curator: Absolutely. The photograph offers us a fascinating lens through which to consider not only the artistry of the cathedral’s original sculptors but also Nègre’s own contribution to our understanding of cultural heritage and its representation. Editor: Indeed. And for me, it highlights photography's power not just to record, but to almost poetically reimagine history through shadow and light.