The gallery of Notre-Dame
(La galerie Notre Dame)
1853
from the Etchings of Paris (Eaux-Fortes sur Paris) series (1852–54)
- Medium
- etching, engraving and plate-tone
- Measurements
- 28.3 × 17.5 cm (plate) 38.0 × 25.4 cm (sheet)
- Catalogue/s Raisonné
- Schneiderman 29 III on green paper.
- Edition
- 3rd of 6 states
- Departments
- International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
- Credit Line
- Gift of Jacobus Francis van Breda and Helen Mary Cooley through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2024
- Gallery location
- Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International - About this work
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By the mid nineteenth century in France, many factors had contributed to a growing popular interest in the country’s cultural heritage, particularly that of the Middle Ages. Victor Hugo’s role was central in this: his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris), first published in 1831, generated great interest in the history of France, the city of Paris and the cathedral itself. Hugo later praised Meryon’s etchings, stating, ‘The breath of immensity passes through all his works and makes his etchings more than pictures – [they are] visions.’ Meryon’s work was greatly appreciated by other commentators including Charles Baudelaire and the Goncourt brothers, the latter claiming Meryon captured the soul of the old city of Paris.