Artwork Page for Amiens

Details / Information for Amiens

Amiens

1855

Édouard Baldus

(French, 1813–1889)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
albumen print from wet collodion negative
Measurements
Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1986.15
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

This rare, majestic, and sweeping view of the cathedral of Amiens, France, is an outstanding example of Baldus’s genius for photographing architecture. Placing his large view camera at an elevated vantage point, he recorded the dominating and central position of the church, which was undergoing restoration, as it towered above the surrounding village; open landscape is captured in the distance. In this ambitious composition, he carefully rendered the scene’s textural detail, spatial complexity, and subtlety of light. Compare this distant view with the close-up detail of a stone sculpture in LeSecq’s photograph of the same building (CMA 1996.253).
A horizontally oriented albumen print photograph depicts an elevated view of a city centered on a massive Gothic cathedral. Densely packed gabled roofs and brick chimneys fill the foreground. In the lower left, storefronts display text including "DEPOT de BASCULES." The cathedral, partially encased in wooden scaffolding, features a tall, central spire. A flat landscape stretches toward the horizon under a light, uniform sky.

Amiens

1855

Édouard Baldus

(French, 1813–1889)
France, 19th century

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