The man behind Les Halles in Paris.

Victor Baltard was the architect of a symbolic Parisian landmark: les Halles, the marketplace building right in the heart of Paris. Although it was destroyed many years ago, this vast building in glass and metal, often imitated, was to make the architect extremely famous. It was also misunderstood by some historians who did not believe that Baltard himself was responsible for the project.

Baltard was often torn between a classical artistic aesthetic and a thirst for innovation in materials and technology. The exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris aims to show that these two preoccupations together nourished his creativity. The exhibition thus brings together a huge variety of works (architectural drawings, models, old photographs, engravings, paintings, furniture, stained glass windows, etc.). These items illustrate both facets of Baltard's character: the artist who was close to Ingres and Flandrin, managed the decoration of several churches in Paris and also the Hôtel de Ville; and the architect who happily designed using metal and, alongside Haussmann, was to give the capital a new face.