Catacombs, Paris

Nadar

April 1862 · Albumen silver print from glass negative · Photographs

By the end of the eighteenth century, overcrowded cemeteries in Paris had become a medical problem and city officials began to use the catacombs beneath the streets as a massive burial ground. By 1810 the “city of the dead” had opened to the public and artists soon followed, generating a new interest in the macabre. Although the prefect of Paris officially closed the catacombs to the public in 1830, lovers of the bizarre periodically gained access to the subterranean vaults. Known primarily for his portraiture, Nadar made this photograph of the ghoulish décor with an artificial light of his own design—an early arc lamp known as a Serrin Regulator.

Artist

Nadar

Date

April 1862

Medium

Albumen silver print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Purchase, Denise and Andrew Saul Gift, 2005