id: 151844 accession number: 1984.17 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1984.17 updated: 2022-01-04 16:58:37.962000 Fountain of Notre-Dame at Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, c. 1853. Louis-Rémy Robert (French, 1811-1882). Salted paper print from calotype negative; image: 32.2 x 26.1 cm (12 11/16 x 10 1/4 in.); paper: 34.6 x 26.8 cm (13 5/8 x 10 9/16 in.); matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1984.17 title: Fountain of Notre-Dame at Saint-Brieuc, Brittany title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1853 creation date earliest: 1848 creation date latest: 1858 current location: creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: France, 19th century technique: salted paper print from calotype negative department: Photography collection: PH - French 19th Century type: Photograph find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Louis-Rémy Robert (French, 1811-1882) - artist Louis-Rémy Robert French, 1811-1882 Born in Paris, Louis-Rémy Robert was trained by his father as a painter on porcelain and glass, eventually succeeding him as chief in charge of the workshops of painters and gilders at the Manufacture de Sèvres. He developed an active interest in photography, probably due in part to his friendship with Henri-Victor Regnault, who was appointed director at Sèvres in 1852, and whom Robert succeeded in 1871. Robert's views are frequently more traditional and classically inclined than those of Regnault. His well-known series on the architecture, gardens, and art of Versailles, published by Louis-Désire Blanquart-Évrard as Souvenirs de Versailles (1853), reflects an appreciation of the heritage in French culture and design, traditions with which Robert was familiar, on a smaller scale, through his background in porcelain and glass decoration. Robert was also a technical innovator, a friend of the printers Blanquart-Évrard and Alphonse Louis Poitevin, and served as a judge for the competition originated by the Duc de Luynes to further research into the longevity of photographic prints. A member of the Société française de photographie, Robert exhibited his work in Paris, Brussels, and London between 1855-62 and lectured on photography at the École des Ponts et Chausées from 1858-72. T.W.F. --- measurements: Image: 32.2 x 26.1 cm (12 11/16 x 10 1/4 in.); Paper: 34.6 x 26.8 cm (13 5/8 x 10 9/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: believed to be a unique print support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Written in pencil on verso: "PM Diéterle" translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Year in Review for 1984 opening date: 1985-04-03T04:00:00 Year in Review for 1984. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-May 5, 1985). title: Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum opening date: 1991-06-07T04:00:00 Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991). title: Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2005-02-26T00:00:00 Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 26-June 16, 2005). title: France at the Dawn of Photography opening date: 2009-10-04T00:00:00 France at the Dawn of Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 4, 2009-January 24, 2010). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * CMA 1985: "Year in Review 1984," Bulletin, 72 (April 1985), p. 202, no. 65, repr. p. 184.
CMA 1990: The World Seen Anew: English and French Photographs of the 1850s, June 29-August 26, 1990, no cat.
CMA 1991: Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum, June 7-September 8, 1991.
Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 26 - June 16, 2005 . "Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art".

The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/04/2009 - 01/24/2010); "France at the Dawn of Photography" --- PROVENANCE Jules-Pierre-Michel Diéterle family date: footnotes: citations: André Jammes date: footnotes: citations: Jules-Pierre-Michel Diéterle family; André Jammes date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: In the early 1850s, Robert made a series of photographs that would be copied in lithography by Emile van Marcke, an accomplished artist who worked at the Sèvres factory with Robert at this time. Robert’s photographic journey captured seven sites—all featuring medieval architecture—in a small section along the northern coast of Brittany. For this picturesque view, he included the entire building, a small 15th-century Gothic pavilion erected over the fountain of Notre-Dame of Saint-Brieuc and whose square façade was positioned on a slight diagonal. Robert provided a sense of place by including a portion of the 19th-century chapel behind it, as well as flanking trees and a path leading out of the composition. For this reason, he may have also added a seated woman, dressed in traditional Breton costume, under the frontal arch. Due to the required length of exposure, the movement of the trees was recorded which, along with broad areas of bright light and dark shadows, provides a strong sense of atmosphere. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1984.17/1984.17_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1984.17/1984.17_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1984.17/1984.17_full.tif