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The Royal Porcelain Factory at Sèvres
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A chemist and physicist known for his studies in thermodynamics and the properties of gases, Henri-Victor Regnault was director of France's renowned Sèvres porcelain factory from 1852 to 1871. He was also a master of early scientific, portrait, and landscape photography. Aside from a technical interest in its practical application, Regnault accepted photography as a means of personal expression. In this poetic image, the aerial viewpoint and soft light and shadow unite the strong, geometric forms of the town and factory buildings with the dense foliage of the surrounding countryside.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineThe Royal Porcelain Factory at Sèvres, c. 1851–1852. Henri-Victor Regnault (French, 1810–1878). Salted paper print from calotype negative; image: 35.1 x 43.9 cm (13 13/16 x 17 5/16 in.); matted: 55.9 x 66 cm (22 x 26 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1995.76
