The Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay
Audio transcript: Paris History
Paris of the early 1870s was undergoing a period of tremendous political reconstruction and philosophical renewal. The country had been defeated by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 - 71 and this had caused a devastating loss of morale, particularly due to the ceding of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. At the same time, Paris was recovering from the massive reconstructions begun by Baron Georges Haussmann in the 1850s, which had demolished large parts of medieval Paris, in order to create a grand new urban metropolis. During Haussmann's tenure, more than 100km of new roads were laid down in the very heart of Paris and lined with completely new buildings, creating the airy grand boulevards that are so celebrated in Paris today. But all of this wrought a tremendous sense of change and brought about an identity crisis for the average Parisian negotiating these new streets. At the same time, the political power structures of the Second Empire that had collapsed after the defeat by Germany were being reconstructed by the brave new face of the Third Republic.
While today we marvel at the grand boulevards that allow us to traverse modern Paris, with a great sense of dignified grace, in their time these were tremendously controversial new construction works. Baron Haussmann had demolished significant parts of the history of the city – particularly cutting swathes through fascinating old medieval areas. The French citizens were also aware that behind the notions of new hygiene and delivery of water and arterial connections for a growing industrial city, there also lay another purpose to Haussman's plans, which was to remove pockets of resistance. Paris had been a city that did not just have one revolution in 1789, but had another in 1830 and another in 1848 in which the citizens barricaded the streets to protect their democratic rights. Part of Baron Haussmann's plan to modernise Paris was designed to enable the better movement of troops through the city in order to quell popular unrest. So there was a sinister side to the grand boulevards as well.
Dr Ted Gott
Senior Curator International Art, National Gallery of Victoria
