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[Sculpture of Angel at Sainte-Chapelle, Paris]

1853–1854
Not on view
This rare early work by Mestral captures the period's simultaneous interest in history and its willingness to replace the weathered vestiges of the past with crisp re-creations. What we see here is not a Gothic sculpture but rather a work by Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy Dechaume (1816-1892), newly carved to adorn the chevet of the jewel-like Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, then being "restored" by Viollet-le-Duc. Dechaume's angel seems to have materialized like an apparition, for Marville arranged the picture and adjusted the lens so that only the sculpture itself is sharply focused.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: [Sculpture of Angel at Sainte-Chapelle, Paris]
  • Artist: Auguste Mestral (French, Rans 1812–1884 Rans)
  • Date: 1853–1854
  • Medium: Salted paper print from paper negative
  • Dimensions: 33.9 x 22.3 cm (13 3/8 x 8 3/4 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Jennifer and Joseph Duke Gift, 2000
  • Object Number: 2000.291
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
Charles Marville
1856
[Angel of the Passion, Sainte-Chapelle, Paris], Auguste Mestral  French, Salted paper print from paper negative
Auguste Mestral
1853–1854
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
French
late 18th or early 19th century
[Entrance to the Port of Boulogne], Edouard Baldus  French, born Prussia, Salted paper print from paper negative
Edouard Baldus
1855
[Sculpture of Virgin and Child, Notre Dame, Paris], Auguste Mestral  French, Salted paper print from paper negative
Auguste Mestral
1853–1854

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