Pyramides de Gizèh 1865 - 1869

Curator: Let's turn our attention to this stunning image, "Pyramides de Gizeh," a photograph captured by Gustave Le Gray between 1865 and 1869. It’s currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Wow, it feels…stark, almost barren. Like staring back at time itself. And that muted palette adds to the gravitas. Makes me think about impermanence, you know? Curator: Absolutely. This photograph is significant not only for its subject matter but also for Le Gray's pioneering use of photography. His work with light and shadow—especially given the limitations of early photographic processes—provides important insights when analyzing discourses on orientalism, power, and representation in nineteenth-century art. What are your thoughts on his representation of Egypt? Editor: It's a gaze, right? Le Gray is imposing a vision onto this landscape. I mean, you feel the weight of the pyramids, sure, but there's also something…clinical about it. Like he's cataloging it for some unseen audience back home. Makes me wonder about the people actually living there, their perspectives totally flattened. Curator: Exactly. We must remember how these images were circulated. They were often consumed within colonial contexts and framed narratives about the East. How does Le Gray negotiate between capturing historical grandeur and the complex realities of Egyptian society? Consider also the very limited access people would have had to views of Egypt at the time. Editor: Yeah, I see what you mean. The grandeur almost overshadows anything else. You don't get a sense of everyday life, just these massive, ancient structures. It makes me uneasy, like something is missing from the picture. Curator: And perhaps it's precisely that "something missing" that allows us to critically engage with this image today, deconstructing colonial gaze and reassessing the narratives it perpetuates. It makes you wonder about absence, historical truth, and representation. Editor: It’s funny. At first, I just felt that dusty melancholy, but now...now I see layers. That's what art does, doesn’t it? Peels away your assumptions and whispers possibilities. Curator: Indeed, it’s through that kind of critical examination we discover new angles and question old narratives. Thank you.