Place de l'Arc de Triomphe / [Place de l'Etoile, Paris] (about 1877) by Charles MarvilleThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Although Charles Marville began his photography career concentrating on religious sites and architecture, his attention soon turned to civic subjects, such as this monumental public space extending out from the Arc de Triomphe. When creating this image, Marville's intent was not to simply document a specific place or structure, but to illustrate the national glorification of France.'
Vue prise du Pont des Saints-Pères (1851 - 1855) by Charles Marville and Louis Désiré Blanquart-EvrardThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'This early image reflects Marville's interest in documentary photography, which became his specialty after the city of Paris commissioned him to photograph the roads scheduled for demolition by Napoleon III's architect and city planner, Georges-Eugène, Baron Haussman.'
[Les Deux-Portes. Vue prise de la rue des Innocents vers la rue de la Ferronnerie.] (about 1865) by Charles MarvilleThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Because this block would soon undergo destruction, it became a subject for Charles Marville's documentation of the changes wrought by urban renewal.'
'This atmospheric view of a wide Paris street, taken shortly after a rainfall, is one of four hundred such images created by Charles Marville in 1865.'
Rue Tirechappe, vue prise de la rue Saint-Honoré (1860–1870; printed later) by Charles MarvilleThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Shortly after Charles Marville made this photograph the street would disappear entirely, demolished as part of Baron Haussmann's restructuring of Paris's principal boulevards.'
The Impasse de l'Essai at the Horse Market, Paris (negative about 1865; print after 1871) by Charles MarvilleThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Urban planner Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann commissioned Charles Marville to document "old Paris" prior to Haussmann's redesign of the city's streets and public spaces.'