Palace of Justice, Rouen n.d.

Editor: So, here we have Frederick Nash's "Palace of Justice, Rouen," created with pencil, graphite, and charcoal on paper. It looks like an architectural drawing and almost feels like peering into history through a slightly misty lens. I'm really struck by the delicate details on this massive building. What stands out to you in this piece? Curator: It's uncanny, isn't it? How a few well-placed smudges and lines can conjure such a place! I see a dance between grandeur and the everyday. The Gothic architecture soars, but then you spot the ordinary figures – are they hurrying to court, lost in thought, or simply enjoying a promenade? They breathe life into stone, wouldn't you agree? I can imagine Nash sitting on some steps making marks in his sketchbook and observing what’s unfolding. Does it make you feel that too? Editor: It definitely does! There's a feeling of capturing a moment in time, the past bleeding into the present. Curator: Exactly! The looseness of the drawing lends to that, I think. A photograph is absolute, a pencil drawing has a softness, room for interpretation... almost like memory itself. There's a story unfolding and you are encouraged to imagine and build on what it might be, don’t you think? Editor: I do. It feels incomplete but at the same time full of emotion and feeling. Curator: Yes! Isn’t it marvelous how it invites us in, even today? We're no longer just looking at the building; we are participating in its timeless narrative. What a treasure, really!