Lyon. Viaduc du Rhône (c. 1860): Art, History and Details

Lyon. Viaduc du Rhône (c. 1860) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Édouard Baldus (French, 1813–1889).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Edouard Baldus, one of the greatest French architectural photographers, documented many of the engineering projects and economic growth that accompanied the construction of the railroads in France. Bridges and viaducts were examples of advancing engineering technology and critical structures for commerce. In this view by Baldus, the viaduct’s repeating arches form a soothing rhythm suggestive of classical balance and symmetry at odds with its modern role.

Object facts

• Title: Lyon. Viaduc du Rhône
• Date: c. 1860
• Creator attribution: Édouard Baldus (French, 1813–1889)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print from collodion negative
• Dimensions: Image: 22.8 x 42.5 cm (9 x 16 3/4 in.); Paper: 22.8 x 42.5 cm (9 x 16 3/4 in.); Mounted: 45.7 x 60.9 cm (18 x 24 in.)
• Collection: PH - French 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2022.33

A detail from the museum

This cast-iron railway bridge, completed in 1857, still carries trains today.

Collection credit

Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.