The Mechanism of Memory: Time, Science, and the Specter of Progress

Claude Monet’s  Dr. Leclenché (1864) is a portrait that exists in quiet contemplation, depicting a man of intellect, captured through the impressionist master’s early brushwork. Dr. Georges Leclanché, known for his advancements in battery technology, was a figure at the crossroads of science and innovation. Unlike Monet’s later works, where light dissolves form into ethereal movement,  Dr. Leclenché is grounded—his presence solid, his expression introspective, embodying the weight of discovery in an age of relentless progress. 

This steampunk conceptual reimagining expands upon that very idea: what if Dr. Leclanché’s world was not just a moment frozen in oil and pigment, but an intricate web of time, invention, and lingering echoes of the past? In this reinterpretation, his study is no longer simply a room—it is a clockwork cathedral of intellect and ambition, a space where time itself is studied, manipulated, and recorded. Every wall is adorned with gears, pocket watches, and intricate mechanisms, each one ticking toward an unknown future, mapping out the passage of thought and history. 

A massive stained-glass clock dominates the upper portion of the scene, its golden hues casting an otherworldly glow upon the room. This is not merely a backdrop—it is the very essence of the world around him, a symbol of time’s omnipresence, always watching, always moving. The figures in the scene are trapped within this machinery of history, each playing a role in the grand design of innovation. 

Dr. Leclanché himself appears in two forms—one seated, spectral, fading into the sepia tones of memory, and the other standing at his desk, deep in thought, his fingers resting on parchment, a world of ideas at his command. The seated figure, ghostly and translucent, is not just a representation of the past—it is a reminder that history does not truly vanish; it lingers, influencing every turn of the gears. The standing figure, more present, more defined, is the one who writes, who calculates, who pushes the boundaries of knowledge forward. 

The third figure, standing confidently before the grand clock, is a representation of progress itself. Dressed in impeccable Victorian attire, he embodies the relentless forward march of time, the transformation of theory into reality. He is both an observer and a force, watching over the scene like a guardian of invention, ensuring that the mechanisms of history continue to turn. 

Color plays a vital role in defining this narrative. The warm, golden glow of the clock and its surrounding machinery represents knowledge, enlightenment, the power of human intellect. The deep browns, brass, and copper tones ground the image in a world of industry, evoking the mechanical revolution that defined the 19th century. The ghostly blues and grays of the faded figure contrast with the solidity of the present, emphasizing the fluidity of time—the way past and present coexist, forever entwined. 

As an artist, my intention with this piece was to explore the tension between permanence and progress. Monet painted  Dr. Leclanché in a time of rapid scientific advancement, capturing a mind at work, an individual who contributed to the changing world. But what happens when we view such figures through the lens of time itself? Are they inventors, or are they subjects of a greater, unseen mechanism—one that stretches far beyond their own lifetime? 

The clocks, the gears, the instruments scattered throughout the space—they are not merely decorations, but symbols of the relentless march forward. Science, invention, and knowledge do not exist in isolation; they are built upon the work of those who came before, refined, reshaped, reimagined. This piece is not just about Dr. Leclanché—it is about all who have dared to question, to create, to look at the world and see what could be rather than what is. 

The seated, ghostly figure serves as a reminder that no discovery is truly new—it is always an echo of something prior, a continuation of a thread woven through time. The standing figure, lost in thought, represents the mind in motion, the process of turning knowledge into action. And the figure at the forefront, standing before the great wheel of time, is the culmination of it all—the embodiment of progress, of the future yet to be written. 

This artwork asks: do we control time, or does it control us? Are we the inventors, or are we merely part of a grander machine, playing our roles before fading into history? The presence of Dr. Leclanché—both in the past and the present—suggests that time is not linear but cyclical, that ideas never truly disappear, that innovation is both a force of creation and remembrance. 

Through this piece, I wanted to blend history with imagination, science with mythology, reality with possibility. The world of invention is not just about machines and discoveries—it is about the people behind them, the dreams that drive them, and the invisible gears of time that turn long after they are gone.