Gothic Chapel

Not on view

In 1822 Bouton and Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (inventor of the daguerreotype, an early photographic process) opened the Diorama in Paris. This scenographic entertainment included two enormous canvases, typically with one featuring a natural view and the other an architectural view, illuminated by moving, colored lights. The strikingly realistic effects thrilled audiences. The Diorama was instantly successful and provided a direct context for paintings like this one that Bouton exhibited regularly at the Salon. In the absence of any ostensible narrative, this imagined view induces a romantic sense of yearning that is heightened through the use of deep perspective and crepuscular light.

Artwork Details

Title: Gothic Chapel
Artist: Charles Marie Bouton (French, Paris 1781–1853 Paris)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 18 3/8 x 15 1/4 in. (46.7 x 38.7 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: The Whitney Collection, Promised Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003
Object Number: 2003.42.7
Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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