On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

General View Taken from the Small Staircase

Photograph
October 1864 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Delmaet & Durandelle (photographers)
Durandelle, Louis-Emile (photographer)
Place of origin
Paris (made)
Paris (photographed)

The new Opéra in Paris was designed by Charles Garnier and constructed between 1861 and 1875. Its highly decorated Neo-Baroque style perfectly reflected the confidence and grandeur typical of Parisian architecture at this time. Louis-Emile Durandelle specialised in photographs of construction and industry during this period of intense activity in Paris. This photograph is one of a series that conveys the monumental task and manual effort involved in constructing the Opéra.

Object details

Categories
Photographs
Architecture
Object type
Photograph
Titles
  • General View Taken from the Small Staircase (alternative title)
  • Construction of the Paris Opéra (series title)
  • Vue générale, prise des petits escaliers, octobre 1864 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print from collodion negative
Photographic Paper
Albumen Process
Brief description
Photograph by Delmaet and Durandelle, 'Vue générale, prise des petits escaliers, octobre 1864' [General view, taken from the small staircase, October 1864], 1 of 47 photographs recording the construction and decoration of the Palais Garnier, albumen print from collodion negative, Paris, 1864
Physical description
Photograph of construction work on Paris Opéra House.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 284mm
  • Image width: 386mm
  • Sheet height: 378mm
  • Sheet width: 489mm
Marks and inscriptions
'Photographie de Delmaet & Durandelle, 22, Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, Portraits et reproductions' (Stamped)
Gallery label
(May 2023)
In the 1860s, the photographic firm Delmaet & Durandelle began an ambitious project to document the construction of the opulent Paris Opéra. Across ten years, their photographs captured every element of the monumental build, from fitting the iron framework to sculpting decorative features. These photographs illustrate the scale of the project, showing the substantial materials and labour required to support the enormous building.
(22/09/2004)
The New Paris Opéra was designed by Charles Garnier and constructed between 1861 and 1874. Its highly decorated Neo-Baroque style perfectly reflected the confidence and grandeur expected of architecture in Paris at this time. Durandelle specialised in photographs of construction and industry during this period of intense activity in Paris. These photographs are part of a series that conveys the monumental task and manual effort involved in constructing the building.
Object history
Louis-Emile Durandelle photographed the stages of construction of the new opera house in Paris. The Opéra was designed by Charles Garnier and built between 1861 and 1874. Durandelle’s series of images show the façade as a whole, the stone masons at work and studies of their decorative chisel-work.
Subjects depicted
Opera Houses
Construction
Place depicted
Paris
Summary
The new Opéra in Paris was designed by Charles Garnier and constructed between 1861 and 1875. Its highly decorated Neo-Baroque style perfectly reflected the confidence and grandeur typical of Parisian architecture at this time. Louis-Emile Durandelle specialised in photographs of construction and industry during this period of intense activity in Paris. This photograph is one of a series that conveys the monumental task and manual effort involved in constructing the Opéra.
Bibliographic references
  • Desjours, Jean. Le grand oeuvre: photographies des grands travaux: 1860-1900. Paris: Centre national de la photographie, 1984.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1990
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.2343-1990

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Record createdJune 8, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O112802/general-view-taken-from-the-photograph-durandelle-louis-emile/
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