The Illustrated History Of Paris And The Parisians

As a strategically located seat of European power, Paris was a prized target for invaders. Consequently, it was one of the world’s most heavily fortified cities. Though many of the fortifications have been demolished, or hidden, they have left their imprint on the city, both physically and historically. To understand the history of Paris—and indeed, of France as a whole—one must understand the history of the fortifications. This heavily illustrated history begins with the period 300 B.C. to A.D. 987. Part II looks at the Medieval era (987–1512), a growth period for the city. Bastioned fortifications (1512–1874) are the focus of Part III, covering the era in which Paris modernized its defenses. Modern fortifications (1874–1944) are detailed in Part IV, ranging from the building of the second Parisian ring of polygonal forts to the end of World War II.

Paris stands as a centre of culture, a leader in fashion and art, and a focal point in the world, where ideas meet, clash, and are redefined. In this illustrated volume, the author spans Paris' history from its modest beginnings on a bit of island in the Seine to today's thriving metropolis. This book outlines the historical context of Paris' major battles waged over religion, the monarchy, and democracy; it covers the dramatic events of the French Revolution, the occupation of Paris in World War II, and the student revolts of May 1968. Additionally, it serves as a useful reference guide to Parisian landmarks.

This is the history of a palace, of a museum, and of France : the Louvre, in the heart of Paris, has always been at the heart of French politics. Perhaps no other building has a history so intimately woven into that of a city and a nation. In the thirteenth century, the Louvre castle with its powerful keep was already the symbol of a powerful monarchy. As it slowly lost its defensive role, the austere fortress was transformed into a lavish residence. Meanwhile, the construction of the nearby Tuileries Palace during the Renaissance gave rise to a plan to connect the two palaces, known as the Grand Design.This new vision of grandeur would continue to haunt successive reigns from Louis XIV to Napoleon I. It was not until Napoleon III that the Grand Design was finally brought to fruition - which only lasted a few years, until the Tuileries Palace was burned down during the uprising known as the Paris Commune. Today the palace of the Louvre, inevitably associated with its glass Pyramid, is still continuing to evolve in order to fulfil and expand its role of museum. Although the Louvre is now one of the world's most highly visited museums, people too often overlook the history of the palace in which it is housed. And yet great architects have worked on the building for over eight hundred years, in an ongoing quest for perfection unmatched anywhere in Europe over such a duration. Author Guillaume Fonkenell has selected ten key periods from this vast creative saga, describing each one through spectacular 3-D renderings of reconstructed views. Designed to be useful and accessible to all, the book provides an overview of the history of the Louvre down through the centuries.

Paris and the Cliché of History traces the changing historical meanings of photographs of this city during a century marked by urban renovation, war, occupation, liberation, and visual documentation. Challenging the idea that photographs merely document the past, it calls for new methods of reading photos as material objects with histories of their own and sheds insight on the capital's reduction to an image in the twentieth century.

From the author of Hidden Gardens of Paris, The Streets of Paris is Susan Cahill's wonderfully unique guide to present-day Paris following in the footsteps of famous Parisians through the last 800 years. For hundreds of years, the City of Light has set the stage for larger-than-life characters—from medieval lovers Héloïse and Abelard to the defiant King Henri IV to the brilliant scientist Madame Curie, beloved chanteuse Edith Piaf, and the writer Colette. In this beautifully illustrated book, Susan Cahill recounts the lives of twenty-two famous Parisians and then takes you through the seductive streets of Paris to the quartiers where they lived and worked: their homes, the scenes of their greatest triumphs and tragedies, their favorite cafes, bars, and restaurants, and the off-the-beaten-track places where they found inspiration and love. From Sainte-Chapelle on the Ile de la Cite to the cemetery Pere Lachaise to Montmartre and the Marais, Cahill not only brings to life the bold characters of a tumultuous history and the arts of painting, music, sculpture, film, and literature, she takes you on a relaxed walking tour in the footsteps of these celebrated Parisians. Each chapter opens with a beautiful four-color illustration by photographer Marion Ranoux, and every tour begins with a Metro stop and ends with a list of "Nearbys"—points of interest along the way, including cafes, gardens, squares, museums, bookstores, churches, and, of course, patisseries.

This book turns a compelling new lens on thinking about the history of Paris and photography. The invention of photography changed how history could be written. But the now commonplace assumptions--that photographs capture fragments of lost time or present emotional gateways to the past--that structure today's understandings did not emerge whole cloth in 1839. Focusing on one of photography's birthplaces, Paris and the Cliché of History tells the story of how photographs came to be imagined as documents of the past. Author Catherine E. Clark analyzes photography's effects on historical interpretation by examining the formation of Paris's first photo archives at the Musée Carnavalet and the city's municipal library, their use in illustrated history books and historical exhibitions and reconstructions such as the 1951 celebration of Paris's 2000th birthday, and the public's contribution to the historical record in amateur photo contests. Despite the photograph's growing importance in these forums, it did not simply replace older forms of illustration, visual documentation, or written text. Photos worked in complex and shifting relation to other types of pictures as photographers, popular historians, and publishers built on the traditions and iconography of painting and engraving in order to both document the past scientifically and objectively and to reconstruct it romantically. In doing so, they not only influenced how Parisians thought about the city's past and how they pictured it; they also ensured that these images shaped how Parisians lived their own lives--especially in deeply charged moments such as the Liberation after World War II. This history of picturing Paris does not simply reflect the city's history: it is Parisian history.