The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame
Maximilien Luce, c. 1901
Divisionist sparkle on the Seine. Luce builds Notre-Dame from colored light, not gray stone.
About this work
The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame is a 1901 painting by Maximilien Luce in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Seen from the Left Bank, the twin towers of Notre-Dame glow in sunlight above the Seine, while the busy quay below is full of pedestrians, workers and carts, painted in short, bright touches of color. Luce signed and dated it at lower left, "Luce 1901." Notre-Dame was begun in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and largely finished by 1260. Luce, born in Paris in 1858 to a working-class family, trained as a wood engraver before turning to painting. Around 1884 he took up the Divisionist technique of Georges Seurat and became one of the Neo-Impressionists, later moving back toward a freer Impressionist touch. He was also an anarchist: in 1894 he was arrested after the assassination of President Sadi Carnot, held in Mazas prison for forty-two days and acquitted at the Trial of the Thirty. The canvas measures 73 by 60.5 cm. It came from the New York collection of Christian Humann, who gave it to the French national museums in 1981 for the Musée d'Orsay.
Sources: Musée d'Orsay: Le Quai Saint-Michel et Notre-Dame (RF 1981 14) · Wikipedia: Maximilien Luce · Wikipedia: Notre-Dame de Paris
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 4,641 × 5,673 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 30 × 37 in
- Sizes
- Small (16 × 20 in) · $100 · 284 ppi
Medium (20 × 24 in) · $150 · 232 ppi
Large (29 × 36 in) · $300 · 158 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame?
Here. The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame is available as a framed print in three sizes: Small (16 × 20 in) for $100, Medium (20 × 24 in) for $150 and Large (29 × 36 in) for $300. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame?
The file is 4,641 × 5,673 px, so every size is sharp: even Large (29 × 36 in) prints at 158 ppi. Choose Large (29 × 36 in) for a large wall; Small (16 × 20 in) suits a narrower space.
Is it legal to print The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame?
Yes. Maximilien Luce died in 1941, and the painting's copyright has expired: it entered the public domain in France in 2012, and it is in the public domain in the United States. A faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright there (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
