Gezicht op de kathedraal van Chartres before 1886

This is an old photograph of Chartres Cathedral, whose towers rise with pointed spires high into the heavens. The cathedral is a vessel, a transmitter of faith, that recalls the Tower of Babel—an architectural feat to reach the divine. Throughout history, the tower motif has been used to symbolize human ambition and spiritual aspiration. We see echoes of this in Renaissance paintings, where towers appear as symbols of power and knowledge, as well as in the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia, which served as bridges between the earthly and celestial realms. It appears in our collective memory as a phallic symbol, representing masculine strength and the desire for transcendence. Here, the cathedral acts as a cultural memory, a testament to humanity's recurring impulse to connect with the sacred, reflecting how these architectural and symbolic forms evolve and are reinterpreted across time. They resonate deeply within us, tapping into subconscious desires for order, meaning, and connection to something greater than ourselves.