Marville-Paris

Rating:
Summary: This is a well-reproduced and thorough collection.
Review: Marville, who began his career as a printmaker specializing in landscapes, initially took up photography as an aid to his art. This volume collects his photographs of Paris, mostly taken during the 1870s, between two covers. Sections cover monuments, utilities (street lights, etc.), and street scenes. Marville photographed Paris while the planning reforms of Hausmann were pushing the wide boulevards for which the city is well known, through districts that had not changed for centuries. His photographs show the texture of the built environment, the effects of change, the material basis of economic life, as well as some of the effects of the supression of the Paris Commune. Few of the photographs show people; his intention was to document settings, rather than inhabitants. Readers should be aware that what little text there is in this volume is in French. In addition, the covers are not well attached to the pages, and mine had come loose prior to my purchasing the book. Otherwise, it is well bound. I Highly recommend this book to those with an interest in photography, architacture, or Paris. It is well worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: This is a well-reproduced and thorough collection.
Review: Marville, who began his career as a printmaker specializing in landscapes, initially took up photography as an aid to his art. This volume collects his photographs of Paris, mostly taken during the 1870s, between two covers. Sections cover monuments, utilities (street lights, etc.), and street scenes. Marville photographed Paris while the planning reforms of Hausmann were pushing the wide boulevards for which the city is well known, through districts that had not changed for centuries. His photographs show the texture of the built environment, the effects of change, the material basis of economic life, as well as some of the effects of the supression of the Paris Commune. Few of the photographs show people; his intention was to document settings, rather than inhabitants. Readers should be aware that what little text there is in this volume is in French. In addition, the covers are not well attached to the pages, and mine had come loose prior to my purchasing the book. Otherwise, it is well bound. I Highly recommend this book to those with an interest in photography, architacture, or Paris. It is well worth the price.