Interieur van de Kathedraal van York c. 1850 - 1880

Curator: Welcome. Here we have a gelatin silver print titled "Interieur van de Kathedraal van York," dating approximately from 1850 to 1880, by an artist known only as Draffin. What’s your initial reaction to this photographic image? Editor: Well, right away, it feels… overwhelming. A bit cold, maybe? All those repeating arches just vanishing into the distance… it's visually stunning but emotionally distant. Like standing inside a giant, stony lung. Curator: That’s a fascinating read! Indeed, the Gothic style of York Minster, captured in this photograph, has always been associated with power and grandeur. These cathedrals were deliberately designed to inspire awe, reinforcing the Church’s authority. This piece acts almost like propaganda to inspire religiosity, an architectural marvel frozen in time by the advancements of the photography age. Editor: Frozen is a good word for it! See those two tiny figures in the foreground? They're completely dwarfed by the architecture. Suddenly, the whole image shifts and starts to feel… claustrophobic, not quite welcoming, despite how breathtakingly beautiful the stonework and that huge stained-glass window appear. I wonder how people respond to this architectural feat through such stark photography, and through its display now, too. Curator: The social impact of this type of imagery was certainly profound. Photography was relatively new. This photograph allows people from different places to connect and behold something inaccessible. Moreover, architectural photography such as this example was hugely beneficial for cultural institutions that sought to preserve and showcase relics. Editor: That's true! There's a level of precision that is captured here that could inspire future works and new means of visualizing similar architectural giants. I’m interested, too, that it seems the print is meant to be seen in 3D with special glasses that capture the slightly different angles, one in each eye, allowing for a true perspective to exist. Maybe the work loses some of the intimidation factor as well as grandeur without those means to observe! Curator: Certainly, but with its symmetry and sharp lines it still speaks of calculated majesty. I consider it interesting to observe how such architectural and artistic feats came to be such influential aspects in western culture. Editor: Absolutely. In the end, it's the emotional push and pull—grandeur versus insignificance—that really holds me here. Photography has really proven its value to inspire even long after these magnificent scenes came to exist, and as viewers, the photograph captures all of that. Curator: Precisely. And with that, our journey into York Minster, as seen through the eyes of Draffin, comes to an end.