The Madame B Album c. 1870s

"The Madame B Album" (c. 1870s) by French photographer Marie-Blanche Hennelle Fournier is a photo-collage that showcases a 19th-century architectural detail. The composition features a photograph of a grand interior space, likely a church or chapel, framed by a delicately sketched border and a stained glass window design. The interior space, viewed from a high angle, shows an elaborate ironwork railing and a vaulted ceiling. Fournier's work was recognized for its technical skill and artistic vision, capturing the beauty of architecture and design with photographic precision and creative arrangement. This work, now part of The Art Institute of Chicago's collection, is an example of Fournier's contribution to the development of photography as an art form.