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Masks from the Control Room (Masques du vestibule de contrôle)

A work made of albumen print, from "le nouvel opéra de paris, sculpture ornementale" (1875).
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of albumen print, from "le nouvel opéra de paris, sculpture ornementale" (1875).

Date:

c. 1870

Artist:

Louis-Emile Durandelle
French, 1839–1917

About this artwork

One of the most accomplished architectural photographers in 19th-century France, Louis-Émile Durandelle is best known for his comprehensive documentation of construction of the new Paris Opéra in 1861–75. The Opéra was an opulent structure that would come to symbolize the ambitions of Second Empire Paris. Between 1865 and 1872 Durandelle produced some 200 images of the building, and published 115, including this one, in the massive, eight-volume architectural work Le Nouvel Opéra de Paris. Much of what Durandelle photographed would not be visible to the unaided eye: close-up details of decorative elements that cannot be seen from street level, for example, or internal structural elements hidden inside the completed building. His images freed architects from drawing complex patterns and moldings by hand, kept clients abreast of progress in construction, and formed a historical record of a huge urban undertaking.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Louis-Emile Durandelle

Title

Masks from the Control Room (Masques du vestibule de contrôle)

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1865–1872

Medium

Albumen print, from "Le Nouvel Opéra de Paris, Sculpture Ornementale" (1875)

Dimensions

Image/paper: 27.5 × 38 cm (10 7/8 × 15 in.); Mount: 45 × 62.9 cm (17 3/4 × 24 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Smart Family Acquisition Fund

Reference Number

2012.540

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/215283/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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