Preekstoel te Westminster Abbey before 1869

Curator: Let’s consider this albumen print, believed to be taken before 1869 by John Harrington. It is titled “Preekstoel te Westminster Abbey” or, translated from Dutch, “Pulpit at Westminster Abbey.” Editor: My first thought is just the sheer height and impressive detail captured. It feels almost staged in its emptiness; I feel like the perspective leads your eye right up that incredible gothic structure. Curator: Harrington has carefully documented the Abbey’s interior architecture. Consider the light filtering through the stained glass windows, illuminating the intricate details of the pulpit. The deliberate composition and lighting transform the interior into a scene of reverence, fitting for the heart of British spiritual and political power. Editor: It speaks volumes about the role of religious institutions and power during that era. Photography, in this sense, acts as documentation, but it also, even then, had the power to dictate a narrative about power and permanence. I'm interested in who would commission something like this? Curator: Likely, images such as these served to solidify the visual culture that cemented these buildings of governance as unshakeable cornerstones of English life. Albumen prints provided a clarity that must have been novel, further aiding that messaging. Photography played a role in legitimizing societal pillars such as powerful religious architecture. Editor: Absolutely, and I appreciate that Harrington chose this perspective. There’s a grandeur to the angle, it’s from below, like a congregant would experience during a sermon, creating a silent dialogue. It makes me think about whose stories are prioritized and made so imposing by our culture. Curator: Precisely. Works such as these act as tools for us today to consider the intersection between architecture, power, and public perception during the Victorian era. Editor: By situating artworks like this within their social context, it really pushes us to understand the complicated power dynamics embedded in something that at first, may just seem aesthetically captivating. There are entire historical power systems built into that photo!