# Interior Details and Candelabra, Théâtre du Vaudeville, Paris

- By: Louis-Emile Durandelle (French, 1839–1917)
- Date: 1869, printed 1875/76
- Medium: Albumen print
- Classification: Photograph
- Dimensions: Image/paper: 38.7 × 28 cm (15 1/4 × 11 1/16 in.); Mount: 54.4 × 43.5 cm (21 7/16 × 17 3/16 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Smart Family Acquisition Fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/215282)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/7ec7bd3c73f52984517a4ae3c55b4a65.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

One of the most accomplished architectural photographers of 19th-century France, Louis-Emile Durandelle was hired to document such buildings as the opulent Paris Opéra, the Bibliothèque Nationale, and (as shown here) the newly rebuilt Théâtre du Vaudeville. In a process lasting several years, he would photograph the construction process from the laying of foundations through completion, often revealing elements of the finished building not visible to the unaided eye: details of decorative features, for example, or hidden structural components. His images freed architects from drawing complex patterns and moldings by hand, kept clients abreast of construction progress, and formed a historical record of huge urban undertakings.

Architectural photographer Louis-Émile Durandelle documented some of the most prestigious construction projects of 19th-century Paris. His photographs often reveal elements of a completed building not apparent to the unaided eye: hidden structural components or details of decorative features. Here he isolated decorative elements intended for the Théâtre du Vaudeville’s interior in front of a makeshift backdrop. A glimpse of a vaulted roof in the background…

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0