Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower

1902

Henri Rivière

(French, 1864–1951)

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Culture

France, 20th century

Medium

color lithograph

Measurements

Image: 23.5 x 29.4 x 2.4 cm (9 1/4 x 11 9/16 x 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1997.140

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Description

The Eiffel Tower, erected in 1889 for the Paris Universal Exposition, reached almost double the height of any other structure yet built and thus symbolized modern technology, the new age of iron over stone. Rivière was the first artist to investigate the pictorial possibilities of the Tower and its effect on the Paris cityscape. His 36 lithographs, based on drawings he made during the monument's construction between 1887 and 1892, depict the Tower from many different vantage points, even as a speck in the distance of a bucolic country scene. Rivière's prints emphasize that the Eiffel Tower was omnipresent within the greater urban and suburban landscape of Paris; amazingly it still maintains its visual dominance over the city today.