St. Sulpice, Paris
Unlike William Henry Fox Talbot’s paper negative process, which allowed for multiple positives to be made from the same negative, the daguerreotype process produced only a single example with each use. In response to this limitation, several processes were developed to reproduce daguerreotypes in ink. Hippolyte Fizeau, a scientist and daguerreotypist, devised a method for etching directly into the copper daguerreotype plate, which created a printing plate but destroyed the daguerreotype in the process. The plate could then be used to make multiple prints on paper in permanent ink. The process was not perfect, however, and the resulting prints often looked primitive compared to the refined surface and tonal depth of the original daguerreotype. Nevertheless, this print by Fizeau possesses an impressive amount of detail, from the maze of lines in the stone-and-brick walls to the tiny tiles in the roofs. Saint-Sulpice was one of Fizeau’s favorite subjects, in part because it was close at hand: this view was probably taken from his own rooftop. By lugging his heavy camera up the stairs, Fizeau brought photography out of the studio and into the world—and, through his ink prints, helped introduce the world to photography.
Artwork Details
- Title: St. Sulpice, Paris
- Artist: Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau (French, 1819–1896)
- Date: ca. 1841
- Medium: Photogravure
- Classifications: Photographs, Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1946
- Object Number: 46.122.22
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Multiple artists/makers
1850s
Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau
Noël-Marie-Paymal Lerebours
ca. 1841
Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau
ca. 1841
Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau
1841
Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau
August 22,1843
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.