New York s Metropolitan Museum of Art this week unveils a exhibit revealing scores of rare photos of Paris taken during the reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870) – the earliest days of the then-novel art form.
The exhibit, which opened Tuesday and runs through Sept. 2, offers an unparalleled glimpse at the city s famed boulevards, building facades and monuments at the time they were being built and which define the Parisian cityscape today.
The show depicts the changing shape of Paris during the Second Empire, when the city s narrow streets and medieval buildings gave way to the broad boulevards and grand public works that still define the urban landscape of the French capital, the Met said in a statement.
The exhibit draws entirely from the Metropolitan s expansive photo collection, and include works in other media from various departments of The Met, organizers said.
The photos, taken by 19th century trailblazers considered pioneers photography, offer a compelling look at the Haussmann Renovations commissioned by Napoleon III and led by the Seine prefect, Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann.
His urbanization project between 1852 and 1870 was one of the most massive and transformative that any city has ever undergone.
You can compare Haussmann to (famed urban planner) Robert Moses in New York in the middle of the 20th century – they have the same kind of disregard for what they destroy, said Met curator Malcolm Daniel.
These exhibitions are very instructive, in a country where nobody knows who Napoleon III was but everyone knows and loves Paris, Daniel said.
The collection, which comprises scores of photos from the museum s own holdings is the most extensive outside of France of the city during the time period in question.
The exhibit includes portraits of imperial family, photographed by Gustave Le Gray and Benjamin Delessert and views of old Paris by Charles Marville.
It also features photographs of the New Louvre by Edouard Baldus and of the Opera by Delmaet and Durandelle.
Also on view are historic scenes of the destruction of Paris and nearby Saint-Cloud during the Paris Commune, which saw the working class take the reins of power in the city. -AFP
