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Vintage albumen print mounted on cardboard.
Column of Place Vendôme, Ruins of the Paris Commune by Paul LOUBERE (active 1860-1890).
The obelisk, erected in 1810 and bearing the statue of Emperor Napoleon I, has fallen. The composition of the image, centered on the column's collapse, symbolizes the struggle of the Communards. A cart, figures, and "ghosts" resulting from the exposure time in the square are visible in the background.
During the Bloody Week of the Commune (May 21-28, 1871), numerous public buildings were set ablaze. For the first time, a major event in French history was captured by photographers who took to the streets to record the key moments of the Paris Commune. Photography preserved the reality of these moments, traces of which the nascent Third Republic would quickly erase.
The ruins make a beautiful subject for these photographers.
Devastated Paris recalls the beauty of ancient ruins: the charred walls of the palaces of the Empire are photographed in the same way that the archaeological remains of Rome, Naples or Athens are photographed.
Column in Place Vendôme, Ruins of the Paris Commune, Paul Loubère, c.1871
Vintage albumen print mounted on cardboard.
Column of Place Vendôme, Ruins of the Paris Commune by Paul LOUBERE (active 1860-1890).
The obelisk, erected in 1810 and bearing the statue of Emperor Napoleon I, has fallen. The composition of the image, centered on the column's collapse, symbolizes the struggle of the Communards. A cart, figures, and "ghosts" resulting from the exposure time in the square are visible in the background.
During the Bloody Week of the Commune (May 21-28, 1871), numerous public buildings were set ablaze. For the first time, a major event in French history was captured by photographers who took to the streets to record the key moments of the Paris Commune. Photography preserved the reality of these moments, traces of which the nascent Third Republic would quickly erase.
The ruins make a beautiful subject for these photographers.
Devastated Paris recalls the beauty of ancient ruins: the charred walls of the palaces of the Empire are photographed in the same way that the archaeological remains of Rome, Naples or Athens are photographed.