Lyon. Viaduc du Rhône

c. 1860

Lyon. Viaduc du Rhône, c. 1860. Édouard Baldus (French, 1813–1889). Albumen print from collodion negative; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg 2022.33 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. This cast-iron railway bridge, completed in 1857, still carries trains today.