Photographed by Scott Wolff. Scanned from a slide. Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Saint-Leu- d''Esserent

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

CultureFrench | Prussian

Date1855

MediumSalted paper print from waxed paper negative

DimensionsOverall, Image: 12 × 17 in. (30.5 × 43.2 cm)
Overall, Support: 19 9/16 × 24 in. (49.7 × 61 cm)
Overall, Mat (re-mat needed): 24 × 28 in. (61 × 71.1 cm)
Overall, Frame (estimated): 23 1/2 × 29 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (59.7 × 74.9 × 3.2 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase, by exchange, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank

Object number99.8

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 228

DescriptionThis is a salted paper print from a waxed paper negative. It depicts the construction of a railroad between Paris and Boulogne.

Label TextÉdouard Denis Baldus French, born Prussia, 1813–1889 Saint-Leu-d’Esserent, 1855, from the album Visite de sa majesté la reine Victoria et de son altesse royale le prince Albert, 1855 Salted paper print from waxed-paper negative In the 1840s and 1850s, France built one of the best rail networks in the world, and photography was often used to record the new lines. Édouard Denis Baldus completed two large series documenting railway structures and engineering works, grouped with views of townscapes and historic sites along the routes. Saint-Leu-d’Esserent gives a conventional subject a twist with a dynamic composition that suggests movement and the experience of travel by rail. Foregrounding the rail line with a panorama of the distant priory, Baldus appears to mirror the field of view from the windows of a passing train. Acquired by exchange, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 99.8 Exhibition History "New Frames of Reference: Early French Photographers at Home and Abroad," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, gallery 228, September 5, 2024 - February 16, 2025."The Photographs of Edouard Baldus," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Réunion des musées nationaux, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal, 1994. "Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004. "The World of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008 Published ReferencesTHE PHOTOGRAPHS OF EDOUARD BALDUS (NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), p. 154.