Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2014.

Bois de Boulogne, Reflecting Pond

Artist Charles Marville (Charles François Bossu) (French, 1816-1879)

CultureFrench

Date1858-1860

MediumAlbumen print from wet collodion negative on original mount

Dimensions8 11/16 × 13 9/16 in. (22.1 × 34.4 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)

PortfolioThe Bois de Boulogne, 1858-1860

Credit LineMuseum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank and with funds provided by Michael Bakwin, Leah and Richard Waitzer, Stephan H. and Marynell Gordon, Randy and Lelia Graham Webb, Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Rubin, Tom and Selina Stokes, Dixie and Henry Wolf, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus W. Grandy V, and Norfolk Southern Foundation

Object number2014.18.5

Not on view

Label Textfar left Charles Marville French, 1816–1879 Bois de Boulogne, Reflecting Pond, 1858–1860 Albumen print (photograph) from wet collodion negative on original mount Timothy H. O’Sullivan American, 1840–1882 Lake in Conejos Canon, Col., 1874 Albumen print (photograph) from wet collodion negative on original mount Landscapes are rarely “natural,” as these two photographs reveal. The French government hired Charles Marville to depict the Bois de Boulogne as a place of repose. When the land was acquired in 1852, engineers redesigned its regular tracts to form meandering paths, rolling hills, and extensive water features. The photographs celebrate a contradiction: a modern technical triumph that seems timeless. Timothy H. O’Sullivan produced similar photographs for a land survey. His photographs were meant to identify sites for railroad lines and military outposts, but by focusing on open areas and natural wonders they also contributed to the belief that the West was uninhabited and inviting. Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank and with funds provided by Michael Bakwin, Leah and Richard Waitzer, Stephan H. and Marynell Gordon, Randy and Lelia Graham Webb, Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Rubin, Tom and Selina Stokes, Dixie and Henry Wolf, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus W. Grandy V, and Norfolk Southern Foundation 2014.18.5 Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 2016.42.4 ProvenancePurchased from Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., New York, NY, by Chrysler Museum of Art, December 2014.Exhibition History"5 Years of Photography: Building the Chrysler Collection," Photography & Focus Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 26 - November 10, 2019.