Gipsmodel voor beeldhouwwerk op het Palais du Louvre: "La Renommée" door Georges Diébolt c. 1855 - 1857

Curator: Looking at this, I feel like I’ve stumbled upon a forgotten dream, fragmented and ethereal. There's something about these lone, arch-shaped images that evokes the whispers of grand stories. Editor: You've hit upon something, indeed. What we’re seeing is a photographic print of a plaster model, “La Renommée,” made by Georges Diébolt around 1855-1857 for the Palais du Louvre. Edouard Baldus, a noted photographer of architecture, captured this image, so we are witnessing a representation of a model intended for a monumental, public piece. Curator: Ah, “Fame”! That makes perfect sense with the Louvre connection. Still, taken out of its intended architectural context like this…the effect is almost mournful. It is academic art presented as wisps of memory. They seem to float here like imprints rather than proclaim strength and enduring acclaim. Editor: Precisely, Baldus’s image subtly undermines the self-assuredness usually associated with academic art and Neoclassical sculpture. It highlights the plaster model, often an overlooked stage, questioning the creation and dissemination of cultural icons within powerful institutions like the Louvre. The stark white background emphasizes the precarity of fame itself. Curator: Do you think there's a tension between capturing a three-dimensional object in a two-dimensional medium and also capturing the provisional in something destined to be grand and imposing? It brings forth a fragility, maybe that's the key...even fame crumbles, the plaster cracks... the image remains. Editor: Absolutely. Baldus's choice to photograph the model emphasizes the industrial process inherent to creating a symbol of French cultural authority. The multiple stages--Diébolt's sculpting, the casting, and Baldus’s recording through a relatively new medium—show fame as less of an innate quality and more as something actively produced and negotiated. Also, remember, Baldus wasn’t merely documenting, he was showcasing his skill, solidifying his status as *the* photographer of state projects. Curator: This image, divorced from its purpose, becomes about capturing a creative thought, but with this tinge of awareness, maybe even anxiety, about where these powerful statements eventually find their place. Very thought-provoking! Editor: It highlights the controlled creation and circulation of national imagery—questioning not the art, but how that art then gets weaponized within the state's overall project.