Gothic Church c. 19th century

Curator: Domenico Quaglio's "Gothic Church," now housed at the Harvard Art Museums, offers us a glimpse into the Romantic fascination with medieval architecture. What's your first impression? Editor: Melancholy, definitely melancholy. The stark black and white, the crumbling stone—it speaks of time and loss. You can almost smell the dampness. Curator: I see that too. Quaglio, an early 19th-century artist, was part of a movement that idealized the Gothic as a symbol of a spiritual and glorious past. Look at the tiny figures near the arch—they’re dwarfed by the architecture. Editor: Right, that scale is key. It’s a common visual trope: humanity humbled by the grandeur of faith and history, all those spires pointing to something beyond. The weather vane feels almost like a soul’s compass. Curator: And notice the light—the artist’s clever use of light and shadow enhances this dramatic effect. It’s a really evocative piece, isn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. It reminds us how artists use architectural motifs to tap into our shared cultural memory, those stories we tell ourselves about who we are.