Louis-Émile Durandelle (French, 1839-1917) Le Nouvel Opera de Paris, Sculpture Ornementale, 1866-1875 Albumen print, 1875 8-3/8 x 11 inches (21.3 x 27.9 cm) 17-3/4 x 24-1/2 inches (sheet) On original mount with printed title and credit. PROVENANCE: Galerie Texbraun; Current owner. Durandelle's portfolio is considered to be the definitive work on the Opera at Paris, 'the most exuberant building of its time' (Dictionary of Art, XII, p. 156). A relative unknown, Charles Garnier won the competition to build the Opera in 1861 as an expression of the wealth and power of Napoleon III's Second Empire. Construction commenced immediately, employing over 90 painters and sculptors for its lavish decorative program alone, and it was completed--under the Third Republic--in 1875. The celebrated French architectural photographer Durandelle recorded its construction in 'photographs which are a milestone in the use of the medium for extended architectural documentation. They count among the most splendid examples of 19th-century architectural photography.' (C. Phillips, The Construction of the Paris Opéra, exhibition at ICP, New York, 2001). HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved