Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2019.

Moulins Cathedral, construction of the nave (Cathédrale de Moulin, construction de la nef )

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

CultureFrench

Date1863

MediumAlbumen print from collodion negative

DimensionsOverall, Image: 13 3/4 × 10 3/8 in. (34.9 × 26.4 cm)
Overall, Support: 23 1/4 × 17 1/8 in. (59.1 × 43.5 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Frame (estimated): 25 5/8 × 21 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (65.1 × 54 × 3.2 cm)

InscribedRecto, graphite, br: Cathedrale de Moulins, construction de la nef, Julliet 1863 Recto, graphite, br: K1226J Blindstamp, bc : Ch Marville/ Photographe/ Du Musee Imperial/ Du Louvre

Credit LineGift of Susan and Paul Hirschbiel

Object number2019.19.11

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 228

DescriptionDepicts the construction of a church nave.
Label TextCharles Marville [Charles François Bossu] French, 1813–1879 Moulins Cathedral, Construction of the Nave, 1863 Albumen print from collodion negative Charles Marville’s long exposure of the interior of Moulins Cathedral may appear to document its restoration, but in fact it shows the construction of a new nave attached to a fifteenth-century chapel. Carried out in the 1850s by the architects Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Millet, the state-funded project exemplifies the long life of the Gothic as a national style. Millet relied onphotography to monitor construction at his building sites across France. Here Marville records the iron scaffolding and heavy drum columns modeled after the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Gift of Susan and Paul Hirschbiel 2019.19.11 ProvenanceCharles Isaacs (dealer); purchased by Susan and Paul Hirschbiel, 3/22/1999; gifted to the Chrysler Museum of Art, 2019.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.