St. Etienne du Mont, Facade c. 1853 - 1858

Editor: So, this is William Henry Fox Talbot’s "St. Etienne du Mont, Facade," created sometime between 1853 and 1858. It’s a photograph, but it almost looks like an etching – all these delicate lines and soft grays. It evokes a feeling of a distant past, like a forgotten memory. What do you see in this piece that really stands out? Curator: Ah, yes! Talbot. A pioneer! It's fascinating how he captured the facade with such incredible detail using photography, which was still a relatively new medium. It almost looks like he’s trying to trap the soul of the building on paper! Notice the soft tonality; it gives the stone this almost ethereal quality, doesn't it? Like looking at a ghost. He makes the old feel eternal. I wonder, do you get a sense of how long that stone has been standing there? Editor: Definitely. It feels older than the photograph itself, if that makes sense. And that texture! You can almost feel the cold stone, even in a picture. But was he trying to make photography look like an established medium like engraving? Curator: Perhaps. Photography was battling for legitimacy as art then, so referencing established forms gave it validation, don't you think? Yet, something feels distinctly photographic here. Something about how the light interacts with the facade… like a fleeting moment caught in time. See those figures at the entrance? Ghosts caught in a sunbeam... what story could they tell, if they only could? Editor: True! I see what you mean. It's both familiar and otherworldly. I came expecting architecture but I encountered poetry instead! Curator: Exactly! He has used a new technology to make a solid object like a church seem to dissolve in feeling! Wonderful stuff!