Paris: Pavillon de l'Horloge, the Louvre c. 1855 - 1982

This photograph, "Paris: Pavillon de l'Horloge, the Louvre," was made by Charles Nègre sometime in the mid-19th century. It's a building rendered in a range of greys, with an almost architectural precision. It is interesting how the surface of the image makes me think of the surface of a building. Look closely, and you'll notice that the shadows aren't uniform; there's a real sense of light playing across the facade. That deep, cavernous archway on the ground floor really pulls you in, doesn't it? It’s like a little vortex in this otherwise very structured image. I find myself wondering what’s hidden in that darkness, what stories it could tell. Nègre’s work reminds me a bit of Bernd and Hilla Becher's photographs of industrial structures. There's a similar sense of objectivity, but also an underlying appreciation for the beauty of form and the history embedded in these structures. Ultimately, this image is about seeing, about how we frame and understand the world around us.