Statue of the Virgin, Notre Dame de Paris (1853): Art, History and Details

Statue of the Virgin, Notre Dame de Paris (1853) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Auguste Mestral (French, 1812–1884).

The work and its context

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

Around 1853, Auguste Mestral was commissioned by sculptor and metalsmith Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume to photograph sculptures he was carving for the Cathedral of Notre Dame. They were intended to replace ones that had been damaged by weather or during the Revolution. It is believed that this photograph was at one point owned by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, the architect heading the church’s restoration. This sculpture now stands in front of the rose window on the west (main) facade of the church.

Object facts

• Title: Statue of the Virgin, Notre Dame de Paris
• Date: 1853
• Creator attribution: Auguste Mestral (French, 1812–1884)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: salted paper print from paper negative
• Dimensions: Image: 35.2 x 25.8 cm (13 7/8 x 10 3/16 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)
• Collection: PH - French 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2007.12

Collection credit

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund

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.