455
that set them apart from other contemporary examples
of architectural documentation. The scrupulous direct-
ness with which Durandelle approached his subjects,
exploring their forms, contours, and the distribution of
light and shade across planes, endow the raw materials
of construction—beams, windows, planks—with unex-
pected expressive force. Yet the incipient modernism of
this tendency toward abstraction is in part a direct conse-
quence of the technical constraints of both Durandelle’s
relatively simple equipment and the documentary nature
of the project, which required highly detailed, optically
sharp, easily readable images (Keller, 112–113).
The fi rm Delmaet & Durandelle undertook other proj-
ects to recording the massive building and renovation
programs in Paris and elsewhere in France in the last
third of the nineteenth century. These projects included
photographing the rebuilding of the Hôtel-Dieu (1868),
the building of the Bibliothèque Nationale (1870), the
destructions wrought by the Franco-Prussian war and
the Paris Commune (1870–71), the renovation of the
abbey of Mont-Saint Michel under the architect Edouard
Corroyer (1874–8), the construction in Montmartre of
Sacre Coeur (1877–90), designed by architect Paul
Abadie, and fi nally the construction phases of the Eiffel
Tower, which was begin in 1887 and completed in 1889.
Photographs from the latter two projects are included in
albums at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Construction de
la Tour Eiffel (2 vols., 1889), and Eglise de Sacre Coeur
à Montmartre (2 vols., 1890). Additionally, the fi rm
completed smaller projects, such as documenting the
construction of the theater at Monte Carlo (1880), also
designed by architect Charles Garnier, and photograph-
ing the archaeological excavations of the subterranean
space under the Louvre (1882–84).
Durandelle’s prints of the Opéra were exhibited to ac-
claim in the universal exhibition of 1878, Paris. He also
won medals in the universal exhibitions of 1878, 1882,
and 1889. After the death of Clémence, Durandelle
retired to Bois-Colombes in 1890 and married Julie-
Eugenie Saint-Léger. He left his studio to Paul-Joseph-
Albert-Chevojon, who continued to make industrial and
architectural photographs. Durandelle died in 1917.
Major holdings of Durandelle’s photographs include
the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, the Bibliothèque His-
torique de la Ville de Paris, the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, the
Canadian Centre for Architecture. There are no known
family archives or correspondence.
Sarah Kennel
Biography
Born in 1839, Louis-Emile Durandelle was among
the most accomplished architectural photographers
in nineteenth-century France. Little is known of his
early training, but by 1854 he operated a studio with
Hycaninthe Cesar Delmaet (1828–1862). After Del-
maet’s death in 1862, Durandelle married Delmaet’s
widow, Clémence Jacob Delmaet, who retained her fi rst
husband’s surname and actively participated in the run-
ning of the studio. The fi rm “Delmaet and Durandelle”
was responsible for documenting the construction or
rebuilding of some of the most important landmarks in
Paris, including the Paris Opéra, the the Hôtel-Dieu, the
Bibliothèque Nationale and the church of Sacre-Coeur,
and the construction of the Eiffel Tower. Durandelle ex-
hibited photographs in the universal exhibitions of 1878,
1882, and 1889. In 1890, upon the death of Clémence
Jacob, Durandelle sold the business and archives to his
assistant Paul-Joseph-Albert Chevojon.
See also: Bibliothèque Nationale.Further Reading
Frizot, Michel, ed., The New History of Photography. Cologne;
Könemann, 1998.
Garnier, Charles, Le Nouvel Opéra de Paris. Paris: Ducher,
1875–81. Two text volumes (1878, 1881), two volumes with
engravings and lithographs (1880), 4 volumes of photographs,
with 115 works by Durandelle (1875/6).
Heilbrun, Françoise and Philippe Néagu, Musée d’Orsay, Chefs-
d’oeuvre de la collection photographique. Paris: Réunion des
Musées Nationaux, 1986.
Kahane, Martine, and Bruno Foucart, L’Opéra de Paris. Paris:
Centre Nationale de la Photographie, 1985.
Keller, Ulrich. “Durandelle, the Paris Opéra, and the Aesthetics
of Creativity,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Vol. 111 (February
1988), 109–118.
Paini, Dominique. Photographie/Sculpture. Paris: Centre natio-
nale de la photographie, 1991.
Perego, Elvire, “Delmaet & Durandelle ou la rectitude des lignes.
Un atelier du XIXe,” Photographies 5 (July 1985).DURIEU, JEAN-LOUIS-MARIE-EUGÈNE
(1800–1874)
Jean Louis Marie Eugène Durieu (1800, Nîmes, France–
1874, Paris, France) was an early French photographer
of nudes (male and female), known for making studies
for Eugène Delacroix. Some of Durieu’s nudes were
used by Delacroix to create his own paintings and
drawings.
Durieu was a jurist, he served the government dur-
ing the stormy prelude of the French Second Empire.
In 1824 he founded a periodical ‘Le Mémorial des
Percepteurs.’ In 1842 he collaborated on a play ‘The
Husband of the Widow’ which remained in the reper-
toire of the Théatre Français until 1900. He was also
a photographer specializing in daguerreotypes and in
1845 he made astral views with Baron Gros. In 1847
he was leading the administrative section of the, Com-
munes, Ministery of the Interior as Inspector-General
of Hospices and Public Utilities. As an administrator he