The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, Paris

c. 1860s

Édouard Baldus

(French, 1813–1889)
France, 19th century
albumen print from collodion negative
Image: 21.5 x 28.2 cm (8 7/16 x 11 1/8 in.); Paper: 21.5 x 28.2 cm (8 7/16 x 11 1/8 in.); Mounted: 32.6 x 43.5 cm (12 13/16 x 17 1/8 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2022.16
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Completed in 1836, the Arc is dedicated to the armies of the French Revolution and the Second Empire and has gained additional symbolic force with each war fought by the French.

Description

The construction materials seen here in the foreground symbolize the fact that for three decades starting in 1854, Paris was a construction site as Baron Haussmann replaced the crooked streets and crumbling buildings of medieval Paris with a modern city. Its rational city plan featured broad avenues that radiated from key sites like the Arc de Triomphe.
  • Harry Lunn, Washington, D.C., sold to Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, Scarsdale, NY
    ?-2022
    Michael Mattis & Judith Hochberg, Scarsdale, NY, sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    March 7, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, Paris|url=false|author=Édouard Baldus|year=c. 1860s|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.16