Pavillon de la Bibliothèque Impériale in Paris, Édouard Denis Baldus, 1856 - 1857
albumen print, h 435mm × w 343mm More details
Photography as a free and independent medium hardly existed in the 19th century: many of the photographs from this time were taken on commission for a specific purpose. Photographers such as Baldus and Marville, now considered undisputed great masters of 19th-century photography, rarely made non-commissioned work. Around 1855 Baldus recorded the massive rebuilding campaign of the Louvre.
