In 2007, Rémy Marlot took a number of photographs of the Cologne Cathedral. Of the forty-five shots taken (in two hours, after a preliminary survey), eleven make up his homogeneous series called "Black Churches". Backlit and shot during the day, the photographs were reworked during development to give them unity and enhance the blackness.

Rémy Marlot adopted a view from below to create an all-over effect that gives a dizzying impression, which the artist associates with "elevation" and "spirituality". He explains, "I like this tilting where everything is out of my control. Despite the tripod, lines stream forth, nothing is contained within the frame, everything extends beyond."

An obvious homage to the cathedrals by Claude Monet, the photographs in this series are spectacular by their large format, verticality and dark blue colour, as they investigate the practice of architectural photography and engage in a dialogue with Lucien Hervé's photographs of Le Havre rebuilt, also on display at the Musée d'art moderne André Malraux.