Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

La Corniche

Artist Édouard Denis Baldus (French (born Prussia), 1813 - 1889)

CultureFrench

Dateca. 1858

MediumAlbumen print on original mount

DimensionsOverall, Image: 16 3/8 × 13 5/16 in. (41.6 × 33.8 cm)
Overall, Support: 22 7/8 × 16 7/16 in. (58.1 × 41.8 cm)
Overall, Mat (remat to fit): 28 × 24 in. (71.1 × 61 cm)
Overall, Frame (estimated): 29 1/2 × 23 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (74.9 × 59.7 × 3.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Charles Isaacs

Object number93.36.2

Not on view

DescriptionThis albumen print from waxed paper negative on original mount depicts a wagon on a bridge in a mountain landscape.

Label Textleft Édouard-Denis Baldus French, b. Prussia, 1813–1889 La Corniche, ca. 1858 Albumen print (photograph) on original mount Gift of Dr. Charles T. Isaacs 93.36.2 right O. Winston Link American, 1914–2001 Creek Junction, Bridge 52, 1956 Gelatin silver print (photograph) Lent by David and Susan Goode, with intent to give French officials hired Édouard Baldus to document the historic architecture of Paris in 1851 before it was demolished to modernize the city. Impressed by his views of buildings and monuments, they commissioned additional photographs that establish a connection between French history and modern progress. As seen on the left, Baldus’ photograph of a viaduct curving between majestic hills suggests how French engineers could blend modern necessities into the country’s historical landscape. About 100 years later, O. Winston Link created a similar series about the American transport company Norfolk and Western. Much like Baldus, Link’s photographs show railroads and steam locomotives weaving seamlessly though the natural landscape. By the 1950s, however, steam engines were dated technology, and the company would soon transition to diesel. Exhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997. "New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016.