Impressionist Paris: City of Light

This richly illustrated volume explores diverse aspects of life in nineteenth-century Paris, from the dim alleys of “Old Paris” to the grand boulevards of the Second Empire.

Paris earned the enduring nickname la ville lumière during the second half of the nineteenth century, when gas lamps gradually began to light up the city’s dark medieval streets. Authors, composers, and especially visual artists thrived in this dazzling milieu. Approximately one hundred prints, drawings, photographs, and paintings offer an unforgettable tour of the cultural capital of the nineteenth century - the city in which Impressionism was born. Readers are transported to Paris via views of the city, from panoramas to picturesque details, by Pierre Bonnard, Charles Marville, Jean-François Raffaëlli, and Edouard Vuillard. Works by Honoré Daumier and Edouard Manet convey key historical events and underscore the newfound power of the press. Prints and drawings by Mary Cassatt, Paul Gauguin, and Camille Pissarro provide an expanded view of the Impressionist movement beyond the medium of painting, while Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and James Tissot contribute colorful images of the theater, the circus, and other forms of popular entertainment. The book concludes with a selection of vibrant turn-of-the century posters by Jules Chéret, Alphonse Mucha, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and many more.