La Tour Eiffel foudroyée

From the outset, the Eiffel Tower, constructed for the 1889 Universal Exposition, has been a favorite motif of photographers, painters, and graphic artists. Its towering presence gave a unique shape and instantly recognizable locator to broad views of the city, and its network of iron made an ideal subject for modernist photographers looking for abstraction in the real world. Gabriel Loppé’s photograph of the tower being struck by lightning remains among the most dramatic representations of the Eiffel Tower, which seems to absorb and radiate energy. Gustave Eiffel admired this view and wrote to Loppé requesting copies.