Cathedral at Rodez, France after L.J. Wood, Antique Steel Engraving, circa 1878

The bell tower of the cathedral of Rodez, in southern France, soars above a crowded old street in this upright view. The tower rises in stages of increasingly rich Gothic ornament to a crown of pinnacles, and the apse of the cathedral can be seen beside it, with smoke drifting from the chimneys below.

The street is lined with tall, timber framed houses, their upper floors leaning out over the road and their roofs patched and sagging. Shop signs and an awning hang over the doorways, and townspeople fill the street: women with baskets, a seated figure at lower left and others gathered around a large covered cart at right.

The plate credits the painting to L.J. Wood and the engraving to J.J. Crew, with the imprint of Cassell, Petter and Galpin of London. The plate is recorded in Picturesque Europe, the firm's illustrated survey of European scenery published in the late 1870s. The tower of Rodez Cathedral, completed in the early sixteenth century, is one of the finest in France.

It is a steel engraving of great clarity, contrasting the delicate tracery of the tower with the rough, weathered surfaces of the old houses. The leaning gables and patched roofs are drawn with an affection for the picturesque that is typical of the best Victorian topographical engraving.

A good choice for a tall, narrow space or for anyone who knows southwest France, framed in dark wood with a cream mat.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.