Village of Andelys - Chateau Gaillard, Coeur de Lion 1856

This is Alfred Capel Cure's 1855 photograph, "Village of Andelys - Chateau Gaillard, Coeur de Lion." The print immediately evokes a sense of historical weight, structured by a clear division between the elevated castle ruins and the village below. The composition is carefully arranged. Note how Cure uses the stark contrast between light and shadow to define form, creating a textured surface that almost feels tactile. The formal arrangement directs the viewer's eye from the detailed stonework of the castle down towards the more diffuse village, suggesting a visual hierarchy. Considered through a structuralist lens, the castle and village could be interpreted as binary oppositions, representing power versus community, or permanence versus transience. The photograph thus questions fixed meanings by layering different historical and social elements within a single frame. It invites us to consider the past not as a static entity, but as a series of constructed, often conflicting narratives.