Artwork Page for Sky Study, Paris

Details / Information for Sky Study, Paris

Sky Study, Paris

1856–57

Charles Marville

(French, 1813–1879)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
albumen print from wet collodion negative
Measurements
Image: 15.3 x 21.4 cm (6 x 8 7/16 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1988.191
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Charles Marville made this view of Paris from his apartment.

Description

Marville framed the city so that the dome at Les Invalides—a retirement home and hospital for military veterans—dominates the skyline. Below lie dark, dense neighborhoods where individual buildings are barely discernable. Photographing skies in landscapes was challenging in the 1850s: the light-sensitive coatings were incapable of properly exposing both earth and the heavens in a single shot. There is no doubt that Marville’s interest here was the sky—the magnificent massing of clouds that momentarily eclipses the sun. The scale, drama, and majesty of this short-lived natural spectacle overwhelms human achievements.

Sky Study, Paris

1856–57

Charles Marville

(French, 1813–1879)
France, 19th century

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