Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey Athenes. 1842. Parth‚non. Fa‡.[ade] et C.[olon

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey Athenes. 1842. Parth‚non. Fa‡.[ade] et C.[olonnade] Nord. Daguerreotype. Titled, dated and numbered in ink on label on verso. 71/2 x 91/2in. (18.8 x 24cm.) NOTES The great Doric temple dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, designed and built in the fifth century BC. Considered to be a perfect model of ancient Greek construction, this has been arguably the most admired, studied and influential building in western architecture. Built entirely of marble, and raised above the other buildings on the site by a tall platform, the Parthenon dominates the Acropolis and the city of Athens. By the time Girault de Prangey visited the city, the grand edifices of the classical temples had crumbled, and generations of visitors, including Lord Elgin, had left with trophies. In this almost defiantly strong image the photographer completely fills the large plate with the temple colonnade, placing the jutting corner in the foreground right in the centre of the picture. The low point of view accentuates the dominance of the structure and highlights the entasis, or slight curvature of the columns. This detail, considered to epitomise the level of refinement achieved in the building’s design, was among those being studied in depth during the later 19th century. Perhaps most noticeable in comparison with similar views of the Parthenon today is how little restoration has occurred. There is considerably less of the colonnade visible in this view and considerably more of the building is lying in the mounds of rubble below. Only two views of the Parthenon exist in the archive of Girault de Prangey, ref. nos. 111 and 112, of which this is the second. Each is a whole-plate daguerreotype. Others in the same format numbered 110 and 113 survive, and are of different subjects in Athens (see lot 13 for no. 113). This suggests that only two whole-plate views were ever made of the Parthenon. -- source link

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