Sculptuur van een fantasiewezen op de Notre-Dame te Parijs c. 1875 - 1900

This photograph captures one of the grotesque figures perched atop the Notre-Dame in Paris, a city steeped in the echoes of history. These gargoyles, guardians of stone, are more than mere ornamentation. They are symbols that harken back to ancient fears and beliefs. Such chimerical forms, with their roots deep in mythology, find their kin in the ancient world: think of the protective deities of Egypt or the monstrous figures lurking in the shadows of Romanesque churches. Over time, these symbols of the grotesque have been refashioned, their original meanings shifting like shadows. Once potent symbols of pagan belief, they were co-opted, serving as reminders of the ever-present threat of the demonic, a reflection of a collective anxiety made manifest in stone. This image captures the deep-seated need to confront and give form to the fears that haunt our subconscious, a practice as old as humanity itself. The endurance of such symbols speaks to a cyclical return, a constant process of rediscovery, reinterpretation, and renewal in the human story.