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Gustave Eiffel, Bridge-Builder

From October 31st, 2023 to February 04th, 2024 -
Musée d'Orsay
Map & itinerary
Emilio Biel & Cia
Le Pont Maria Pia sur le Douro à Porto, en construction fin du montage de l'arc, en 1877
Musée d'Orsay
Don Mme Bernard Granet et ses enfants et Mlle Solange Granet, 1981
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
See the notice of the artwork
Gustave Eiffel died a century ago, in 1923. He has gone down in history thanks to his “300-meter tower”, but before that he had perfected his techniques with regard to metal architecture by building bridges.

On the occasion of the centenary of Gustave Eiffel’s death, we’ll be highlighting the importance of metal bridges in his career as an engineer and entrepreneur. It was in this field that he enjoyed his first successes, in France with the railway footbridge in Bordeaux and the Garabit Viaduct, and abroad with the Maria Pia Bridge over the Douro in Porto. The technical and formal innovations he developed in this activity enabled him to design the famous “300-meter tower” for the 1889 Universal Exhibition.

The exhibition is now over.

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