Rue Neuve-Coquenard (from the Rue Lamartine)

Charles Marville

1870s · Albumen silver print · Photographs

Trained as a painter and an illustrator, Marville began photographing in 1851, and by 1862 he was named “photographer of the city of Paris.” In the service of Napoleon III, he photographed Baron Haussmann’s vast program of demolition and construction. Although he documented the modern city—its elegant street lamps, Morris columns, and utilitarian pissoirs—that replaced the old, he is best known for his detailed views of the picturesque, insalubrious districts slated for destruction.

Artist

Charles Marville

Date

1870s

Medium

Albumen silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Warner Communications Inc. Purchase Fund, by exchange, 1997