Tour du Gros Horloge n.d.

Richard Parkes Bonington captured the Tour du Gros Horloge in Rouen, France, using lithography, a testament to the era's fascination with urban landscapes. The clock tower, dominating the composition, is a symbol of time’s relentless march, a motif that echoes through centuries of art. Consider the clock tower as a modern-day obelisk, a marker not of pharaonic power but of mercantile precision. We find similar structures in the campaniles of Italy, each ringing out the hours in a symphony of civic pride and communal order. Yet, unlike the stark geometry of an obelisk, the clock tower sprouts a Gothic crown, a filigree of spires reaching towards the heavens. This yearning for the divine, combined with the very earthly measurement of time, speaks to our deeply rooted need to reconcile the finite with the infinite. The collective memory of time—marked, measured, and mastered—engages us on a subconscious level, a rhythmic pulse reminding us of mortality. Like the memento mori in a vanitas painting, the clock tower is a constant reminder of the ephemeral nature of existence, a potent symbol that continues to resonate across time.