Gezicht op een sculptuur boven een deur in het Kasteel van Fontainebleau, Frankrijk before 1875

Méderic Mieusement's photograph captures a sculpture above a doorway in the Château de Fontainebleau, likely taken in the late 19th century in France. The photograph documents the ornate sculptural decoration of the royal Château, reflecting the values of the French aristocracy. The image creates meaning through its representation of classical figures, a cultural reference to the art and ideals of ancient Greece and Rome. The Chateau de Fontainebleau was a key site of royal power in France. The photograph aestheticizes a specific social class. Mieusement worked at a time when photography was being used increasingly by state institutions to document buildings of national importance. Historians might use photographs like this alongside other documentary evidence, such as architectural plans and inventories, to better understand the values and tastes of elite social groups. Art always exists within the frame of social and institutional practices.