Artwork Page for Notre Dame de Paris

Details / Information for Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris

early 1860s

Charles Soulier

(French, 1840–1875)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
albumen print from glass negative
Measurements
Image: 38 x 30.6 cm (14 15/16 x 12 1/16 in.); Matted: 71.1 x 61 cm (28 x 24 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1989.56
Public Domain
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Location
230 Photography
Print
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Did You Know?

One of the major monuments of Paris, the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris was built in the 1100s, renovated in the 1700s, and in need of restoration by the 1800s.

Description

When the popularity of Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame drew attention to the church, the state hired architect and preservationist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to restore it. His renovation, which lasted from 1844 to 1864, modified the cathedral: he added the spire, gargoyles, and griffins. Charles Soulier shows us the church’s front and some of the surrounding neighborhood, bustling with carriages and new construction.
A vertically oriented warm-toned photograph depicts the facade of a stone cathedral centered between multistory buildings. Two square towers and a tall central spire extend upward against a sky of textured clouds. In the foreground, an active construction site with wooden scaffolding and excavated earth stretches across the bottom. Detailed carvings, arched portals, and a large rose window define the cathedral's front, which is set back from the flanking street structures.

Notre Dame de Paris

early 1860s

Charles Soulier

(French, 1840–1875)
France, 19th century

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