The Floods of 1856, Church of Saint-Pothin, Lyon
June 1856
Medium
Salted paper print from paper negative
Dimensions
Image: 32.5 x 43.5 cm (12 13/16 x 17 1/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Funds from various donors, 2007
Accession Number
2007.455
Tags
Art Historical Context
In June 1856, the Rhône and Saône rivers unleashed devastating floods on Lyon, France, submerging streets and historic landmarks in murky waters. French photographer Édouard Baldus captured this dramatic moment in *The Floods of 1856, Church of Saint-Pothin, Lyon*, a salted paper print measuring 32.5 x 43.5 cm. Baldus, renowned for his precise architectural photography during the 1850s, immortalized the resilient Church of Saint-Pothin rising amid the chaos, its stone facade partially engulfed, offering a poignant testament to nature's power and human endurance. This image exemplifies Baldus'...
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...