Charles Marville
Cathédrale de Chartres. Grandes figures des pilasters du portail septentrional.

Public Domain

ExpandFavorite

Images(3)

Artist Charles Marville (French, 1813–1879)French, 1813–1879

Printer Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard (French, 1802–1872)French, 1802–1872

CultureFrench

Titles

Cathédrale de Chartres. Grandes figures des pilasters du portail septentrional.
[Large Columnar Figures of the North Porch, Chartres Cathedral]

Date1853

MediumSalted paper print from paper negative

DimensionsImage: 13 3/4 × 10 1/8 in. (34.9 × 25.7 cm)
Sheet: 13 3/4 × 10 1/8 in. (34.9 × 25.7 cm)
Mount: 22 5/16 × 14 3/4 in. (56.6 × 37.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the S. I. and Susie Morris Photography Endowment

Object number2019.254

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionThe great Gothic cathedrals—and Chartres in particular—were a favorite subject of French photographers in the early 1850s, a period of reawakened interest in the nation’s medieval past. While admirably fulfilling its documentary function, this richly printed and beautifully preserved photograph is notable for its lively graphic rhythm of light and shadow. Marville animated his subject by choosing an unusual viewpoint, as high as the statuary but positioned so that the male figure is seen in sunlight against the deeply shadowed buttress.
Provenance[Serge Kakou, Paris]; purchased by MFAH, 2019.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Printed in black, verso, bottom center: 36/26 // CH MARVILLE, PHOT. // BLANQUART-ÉVRARD, EDIT. // ÉGLISE DE ST. CASTOR Á COBLENTZ. // IXE SIECLE. // St. Castor’s church at Coblentz // LES BORDS DU RHIN. // Pl. 9. // IMPRIMERIE PHOTOGRAPHIQUE BLANQUART-ÉVRARD, A LILLE

Other known prints of this image carry the following printed legend on the mount: " NEGATIF DE CH. MARVILLE, PHOTOGRAPHIÉ ET ÉDITÉ PAR BLANQUART-EVRARD. // CATHÉDRALE DE CHARTRES. // GRANDES FIGURES DES PILASTRES DU PORTAIL SEPTENTRIONAL. // L'ART RELIGIEUX. XIIE. SIÈCLE. PI. 209. IMPRIMERIE PHOTOGRAPHIQUE, BLANQUART-EVRARD À, LILLE."

Catalogue raisonnéIsabelle Jammes, "Blanquart-Evrard et les origines de l'édition photographique francaise," cat 58.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.