About this artwork
A founding member of the Société Marseillaise de Photographie, Adolphe Terris was commissioned over a nearly 20-year period beginning in the early 1860s to document the large-scale public construction projects that were modernizing the city of Marseilles. He photographed the medieval streets of the old city as well as the newer railroad tracks, canals, boulevards, and government buildings. A print such as this would have been used as a reference for an architect (cyanotypes, or blue prints, could be made relatively easily and quickly), who could show building sponsors different proposed ornaments. Terris’s image of a plaster study by sculptor Pierre-Jules Cavelier reveals that even in a forward-looking building campaign, the preferred decoration harkened back to classical motifs.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Photography and Media
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Artist
- Adolphe Terris
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Title
- Sculptural Frieze by Cavelier, Minerva Surrounded by the Muses of the Arts
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Place
- France (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1863–1873
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Medium
- Cyanotype
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Dimensions
- 27.5 × 37.5 cm (image); 27.5 × 38.1 (paper)
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Credit Line
- The Mary and Leigh Block Endowment Fund
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Reference Number
- 1998.24
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/150433/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.
