Zuilengalerij met trap in het Palais du Louvre c. 1855 - 1857

Edouard Baldus made this photograph of a colonnade and staircase in the Palais du Louvre using a paper negative. The photograph, made in France during the mid-19th century, depicts a seemingly endless hallway and staircase. The Palais du Louvre was once a palace but by this point it was being transformed into a public museum. This photograph was commissioned as part of a larger project documenting the renovation. Baldus used the then-new technology of photography to capture the grandeur of the building's architecture. Note the play of light and shadow, which emphasizes the length and depth of the colonnade. The Louvre itself, as an institution, was changing from a royal space to a public one, reflecting broader shifts in society. The photograph, therefore, not only documents architecture, but also the social and institutional transformations of its time. To understand this photograph better, we can explore the archives of the Louvre, study architectural history, and examine the cultural politics of 19th-century France.