British Museum 1850 - 1900

Editor: This daguerreotype, called "British Museum," was created by an anonymous artist sometime between 1850 and 1900. It’s held here at the Art Institute of Chicago, and right away, I’m struck by how grand yet somehow also ghostly it feels. So... what stories do you see whispered in this image? Curator: Whispered indeed! To me, this image speaks of ambition, of England striving to equate itself with the empires of antiquity. The almost monochrome palette drains away anything fleeting, presenting only a solid, permanent edifice, which, incidentally, contains actual relics from those bygone eras. Does it give you any sense of, say, architectural deja-vu? Editor: Definitely! The neoclassical style is so strong with all of the columns... a sense of wanting to establish legitimacy, to be taken seriously as a world power. The British Museum in sepia, asserting cultural dominance. Is that a fair reading, or am I projecting too much? Curator: Project away! The beauty of art is precisely that resonance within the viewer. What intrigues me is how the daguerreotype, a relatively new medium at the time, almost monumentalizes the museum itself. As if to say, “Here stands progress; here stands history.” What about the almost blurred human figures? What do they evoke? Editor: They almost feel incidental, which probably wasn't intended but they highlight the building’s dominance, perhaps? Curator: I think you've hit upon something crucial there. A subtle power dynamic. Makes you wonder about who exactly the museum was built "for," doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely, and I am so grateful to have this opportunity to share that conversation. Curator: And to have it with you! Art unlocks conversations and conversations unlocks perspectives and meanings. It's the art of understanding, I always say!