Marmeren beeld van een vrouw in gewaad met een ontblote borst, in haar hand draagt zij een fakkel. c. 1878 - 1881

Editor: This is a photograph by Louis-Emile Durandelle, dating from around 1878-1881. It depicts a marble sculpture of a woman holding a torch. I find it interesting how the texture of the marble is captured in the photograph. What catches your eye when you look at this image? Curator: For me, it's the act of its making. Consider the labour involved: from quarrying the marble to its transportation, the carving process itself, and finally the photographic reproduction and distribution. It speaks volumes about material and the means of artistic production. Editor: So, you're focusing on the physical process more than the artistic statement? Curator: Absolutely. Neoclassical sculpture often aimed for idealized forms. But here, I am more drawn to think of how many hands were involved in producing both the sculpture and then disseminating its image through photography. Did Durandelle perhaps think of how his photography, this reproducible medium, changed the value or context of sculpture? Editor: That’s a really interesting point. I was initially viewing the statue in isolation, as this idealized representation of a woman, but your analysis encourages a more holistic understanding that incorporates its creation and distribution. I never really thought about the sheer labor, its physical existence. Curator: It disrupts that singular notion of artistic genius, doesn't it? This work highlights collective endeavor. I wonder too, about the economies surrounding this statue and image at that time. Who was commissioning and buying this? Editor: That makes me see this image in a completely different way now, focusing less on the figure and more on the system that made it all possible. Thank you for highlighting these points, that the sculpture becomes almost a document of labour itself.