Finance Ministry, Burned. Exterior View
Alphonse J. Liébert French
Author Alfred d'Aunay French
Not on view
Even in our own era, when the medium is ubiquitous, we remain captivated by photographs of the disasters of war, the devastation of natural disasters, or the shape of a local catastrophe. Is it to preserve history, remember suffering, advocate for reconstruction--or is it the same strange impulse that compels one to slow down and look at the wreckage of an accident on the highway? For whatever reason, there was a huge demand for images of the ruins of post-Commune Paris. Liébert was but one of many photographers who toured the city recording the government buildings, houses, factories, and fortifications reduced to rubble. His hundred-print series, usually found in a set of two leather-bound albums with an accompanying text that showed little sympathy for the Communards, was clearly aimed at a well-to-do audience, but other photographers produced inexpensive stereographs and cartes de visite that could be purchased by a wide audience.
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