Deel van de galerij van François I in het paleis van Fontainebleau c. 1875 - 1900

Médéric Mieusement captured this image of the François I gallery at Fontainebleau with a camera, sometime in the late nineteenth century. Of course, the photograph is of the gallery itself, a constructed space. What’s striking is the combination of artistic mediums, the way paneling, painting, and sculpture are all brought together in an ensemble. You could say that the processes of each discipline are subordinated to the overall effect. The wood is highly finished, the painting densely populated, the plaster figures caught in dynamic poses. The labor involved is easy to overlook, yet a great deal of craft went into the making of Fontainebleau. This image offers a record of that creative effort, but also a reminder of the social context in which it was made, one of aristocratic privilege and royal patronage. It invites us to consider the amount of work that was involved in the production process. So next time you look at an interior, don't forget to consider the hands that made it. This challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.