Avignon, Pont St. Bénezet
ca. 1864
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 21.1 x 28.5 cm (8 5/16 x 11 1/4 in.) Mount: 46 x 60.5 cm (18 1/8 x 23 13/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.364.25
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-19th century, French photographer Édouard Baldus captured the timeless beauty of Avignon's Pont Saint-Bénézet in this stunning albumen silver print from around 1864. Known as the "Pont d'Av" from the famous folk song, this 12th-century medieval bridgenow a UNESCO World Heritage site—spans the Rhône River with just four surviving arches, evoking centuries of history. Baldus's image frames the structure dramatically against the water, with boats dotting the scene, highlighting its role as a vital trade and pilgrimage route in medieval Europe. Baldus, a master of architectural photogr...
About the Artist
Edouard Baldus · 1813–1889
Édouard-Denis Baldus (1813–1889), born in Grünebach, Prussia, moved to Paris in 1838 at age twenty-five to study painting outside the École des Beaux-Arts and atelier system. Trained initially as a painter, draughtsman, and lithographer, he exhibited at the Paris Salons from 1841 to 1851 without notable recognition. Around 1849, Baldus pivoted to photography, embracing William Henry Fox Talbot's p...