Rouen Cathedral, Study of the Portal 1892

Editor: So, this is Claude Monet’s "Rouen Cathedral, Study of the Portal" from 1892, oil on canvas. The overwhelming blue tonality really creates a somber, almost ghostly atmosphere. What strikes you about it? Curator: What immediately grabs my attention is the political nature of its abstraction, or rather, the deconstruction of a historically dominant and culturally authoritative monument. Monet is not merely painting a cathedral, he’s using impressionistic techniques to challenge the very concept of permanence and institutional power that these structures represent. Think about the societal shifts happening then - growing secularism, questioning of traditional hierarchies. Doesn't this fragmented portrayal speak to that? Editor: That's a very interesting point. I hadn't considered the political angle. Do you think the use of light plays a role in this deconstruction? Curator: Absolutely! Monet is known for his exploration of light and how it transforms objects. Here, light doesn’t illuminate the cathedral in a reverential way; instead, it dissolves its solid form. He's playing with perception, implying that truth, like light, is transient and multifaceted. The materiality of the painting, the brushstrokes themselves, emphasize that what we're seeing is an interpretation, a constructed reality. Who benefits from how we understand the power encoded in this image? Editor: So, by focusing on light and brushstrokes, he’s almost democratizing the image, removing the aura of the sacred and authoritarian? Curator: Precisely! He democratizes it by focusing on individual perception, and removing a fixed, monolithic meaning from the cathedral itself. He questions how cathedrals participate in performative ideology by the establishment, who at the time sought to dictate and enforce a very specific narrative of society. Editor: I see it now! I'll definitely think about the sociopolitical commentary next time I view it. Curator: It is through these discussions we can challenge preconceived notions. Let's never stop asking 'for whom' and 'at whose expense' are images and meanings made.