[South Portal, Chartres Cathedral]

Charles Marville French

Not on view

The deep shadows framing this doorway at Chartres create spatial depth and draw the viewer’s gaze toward a tiny detail: a small lamp hanging in the center of the open doorway. Marville’s keen ability to harness the play of light, especially against three-dimensional surfaces, made him a sought-after photographer of architecture and sculpture. This print was formerly in the collection of the sculptor Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume, who contributed to the restoration of Chartres in the 1850s and frequently hired Marville to photograph his work.

[South Portal, Chartres Cathedral], Charles Marville (French, Paris 1813–1879 Paris), Salted paper print from paper negative

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