Vienne, St. Maurice 1860 - 1862

Curator: Here we have Édouard Baldus's "Vienne, St. Maurice," a photograph taken between 1860 and 1862. Editor: Immediately, I see labor and process. Look at the scale! It dwarfs the carriages down below. The construction of this Gothic facade must have been a huge collective undertaking. Curator: It feels like stepping back in time, doesn't it? Baldus has captured something enduring. The light, even in this monochrome print, speaks to the strength and grace of Gothic architecture. Editor: Exactly. And look at the surfaces: all that intricate stonework, each piece carved and placed by hand. It’s about the material reality of the building, how it came to be, what kind of social and economic structure was needed. Curator: Absolutely. It's also about belief. About soaring aspirations, human ingenuity reaching for the heavens...I get lost in the details—the arches, the rose window... it's a visual poem. Editor: Don't get me wrong, the visual splendor is undeniable. But the image prompts thoughts beyond aesthetics. For example, this building's cultural significance also embodies complex class structures. And the photographer is, himself, contributing labor using new reproductive technologies... Curator: Indeed. He’s creating a record, preserving this slice of history for us. Do you think Baldus realized he was doing more than just documenting architecture; that he was creating a piece of art in itself? Editor: Of course. His material is not just light-sensitive paper; it is social and economic practice—a web of labor that produced not just the building, but the conditions in which it could be documented, circulated, and consumed as an image. Curator: Well, looking at it through your perspective, I realize even more deeply that it holds layers upon layers, centuries echoing in a single photographic print. Editor: Indeed. From raw stone to cultural monument to printed reproduction, each transformation yields insight into not just art, but its position in a material world.