Gipsmodel voor een gewelfversiering van het Palais du Louvre door Jean-Baptiste Revillon c. 1855 - 1857

This is Edouard Baldus' photograph of Jean-Baptiste Revillon's plaster model for a vault decoration in the Louvre Palace. The photograph captures a semi-circular relief, rich with baroque ornamentation. Two cherubic figures flank a grotesque mask, all intertwined with lush foliage. What is striking is Baldus’ flattening of the three-dimensional relief into a two-dimensional image, reducing its depth and emphasizing its surface. The monochromatic palette further abstracts the composition, turning the plaster into a field of tonal variations. Here, photography not only documents but also transforms sculpture. It challenges the traditional hierarchy of art forms by altering our perception through a new lens. Baldus’ work encourages us to question how photography reinterprets the tangible, altering our understanding of form and space. It invites us to see the sculpture not just as a decorative element but as a study in representation.