Lyon. Viaduc du Rhône
Medium
albumen print from collodion negative
Dimensions
image: 22.8 × 42.5 cm · mounted: 45.7 × 60.9 cm
Classification
Photograph
Department
Photography
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg
Accession Number
2022.33
Tags
male
About this artwork
Edouard Baldus, one of the greatest French architectural photographers, documented many of the engineering projects and economic growth that accompanied the construction of the railroads in France. Bridges and viaducts were examples of advancing engineering technology and critical structures for commerce. In this view by Baldus, the viaduct’s repeating arches form a soothing rhythm suggestive of classical balance and symmetry at odds with its modern role.