Untitled, from the series "Bois de Boulogne"
c. 1850
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 25.5 × 35.8 cm (10 1/16 × 14 1/8 in.); Mount: 41.1 × 58.2 cm (16 3/16 × 22 15/16 in.)
Classification
albumen silver print
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
68063
Art Historical Context
Step into the serene landscapes of 19th-century Paris with Charles Marville's *Untitled* from the *Bois de Boulogne* series, circa 1850. Marville, a pioneering French photographer and the official chronicler of Paris under Napoleon III, captured the city's evolving beauty during a time of rapid urbanization led by Baron Haussmann. The Bois de Boulogne, a sprawling park on Paris's western edge, was a favored escape for Parisians, blending wild woodlands with manicured paths—a perfect subject for Marville's keen eye. This albumen silver print, measuring 25.5 × 35.8 cm, exemplifies early photogr...
About the Artist
Charles Marville · 1813–1879
**Charles Marville**, born Charles François Bossu on July 17, 1813, in Paris, adopted his professional pseudonym around 1832 to avoid the stigma of "bossu," meaning hunchback in French. Trained as a painter, engraver, and illustrator, he spent nearly two decades producing woodblock illustrations for books and magazines before embracing photography around 1850. His transition coincided with the med...