Chimeras of Notre-Dame de Paris

This photograph focuses on three weathered stone sculptures perched on a balustrade. To the left, a famous chimera rests its chin in its hand in a pensive, brooding pose, looking out over the city with large, deep-set eyes and horns. To its right, a simple, bird-like figure stands facing away from the viewer, while a more aggressive, griffin-like creature with an open, beak-like mouth stares toward the right foreground. The background is a blurred, pale view of the Parisian cityscape, captured from a high vantage point.

These sculptures were largely additions by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc during his 19th-century restoration of Notre-Dame, reflecting the Romantic and Gothic Revival fascination with medieval grotesque ornamentation.