Gezicht op de deur van de kapel van het Kasteel van Fontainebleau, Frankrijk before 1875

Curator: This albumen print, a photograph to be exact, captures a view of the chapel door inside the Chateau de Fontainebleau in France, a work created by Médéric Mieusement sometime before 1875. What’s your initial take on it? Editor: Stark, almost forbidding. The darkness of the doorway is so absolute; it pulls you in, doesn't it? The ornamentation surrounding the entrance feels...oppressive, grand, but heavy. Curator: It is an intriguing study in contrasts. Mieusement’s rendering of light and shadow really emphasize the Neoclassical elements – look at the symmetry, the sculpted figures flanking the doorway. Semiotically, it communicates power and solemnity through architectural details. Editor: Power for sure! The details are fantastic but that looming darkness feels almost malevolent, devouring light. Does it feel a bit too staged to you, lacking spontaneity, perhaps? Curator: That's an interesting observation! The photo seems rather spontaneous due to Mieusement choice to cut out details by positioning so close to the architectural construction, he does this knowing we wont perceive the entirety. I think, that maybe because photography back then needed long exposures, so perhaps this contributes the stiffness of it. It speaks volumes about how we construct and perceive such a regal interior. Editor: Perhaps you're right. Despite its composition rigidity there's a certain feeling that's both captivating and melancholic in equal measure, it speaks more about what used to be now that has already passed. But it surely gives us a fascinating doorway into the past, quite literally in this case! Curator: A perfectly phrased conclusion. Let's move along...