Columnar Figures of the North Porch, Chartres Cathedral
Charles Marville
French, 1813–1879
1853-54
A salted-paper photograph made from a paper negative in which Charles Marville records the paired columnar sculptures on Chartres Cathedral’s north porch, aiming to reproduce the look and texture of medieval stone for study and preservation.
Two solemn, life-size figures emerge in warm sepia—soft light carving their drapery, faces, and capitals against deep vertical shadows so the stone feels tactile and monumentally present.
Made in photography’s early years, this print exemplifies how the medium became a tool for architectural archaeology and preservation, shaping nineteenth-century appreciation and conservation of Gothic heritage.
Medium
Salted paper print from a paper negative
Dimensions
14 3/16 × 10 1/16" (36 × 25.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Paul F. Walter
Accession
47.1989
Palette
Exhibitions
