Untitled [View of Flying Buttresses on a Railroad Station]
Artist
Gustave Hergaux
CultureBelgian
Dateca. 1863
MediumAlbumen print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 1/8 × 11 1/8 in. (20.6 × 28.3 cm)
Overall: 11 1/2 × 14 11/16 in. (29.2 × 37.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, gift of Drs. Lea and Nancy Wilds, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Lassiter and the Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Photography Purchase Fund
Object number2004.16
Label TextGustave Hergaux
Belgian (active 1863-1895)
Untitled [View of Flying Buttresses on a Railroad Station], ca. 1863
Albumen print
Museum purchase, gift of Drs. Lea and Nancy Wilds, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Lassiter and the Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Photography Purchase Fund 2004.16
Although little is known about Hergaux, the strength of this image alone warrants its place on these walls. His strong sense of design and technical expertise successfully combine to create this vibrant photograph. The flying buttresses dynamically arcing through the composition create a sense of tension. Made in the mid-nineteenth century, this image exhibits a strong modernist vision that has parallels with the work of such twentieth-century photographers as Paul Strand and Walker Evans. This print is mounted on its original board and comes from an album of railroad photographs. Centered below the print is an embossed crown and type, which reads: SOCIETE ROYAL BELGE/ DE PHOTOGRAPHIE. This would indicate that Hergaux was a member of the Royal Belgian Photographic Society.
Edited By: DS
Edited Date: 2006
Approved By: DS
Approval Date: 01/31/2007
