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Pont-au-change, Paris

1854
Not on view
This etching is among the most expansive views of Meryon’s Paris prints and contains more narrative detail than the majority of the works in the series. A drowning man in the foreground reaches out toward a boat whose occupants, distracted, gesture toward a balloon inscribed "Esperanza" (Hope, in Spanish) that hovers in the sky above. Pedestrians on the bridge also wave at the balloon as a funeral cortege passes by. Meryon composed a separate plate of verse to accompany this etching. It begins, "O divine hope! light balloon!" but concludes pessimistically, describing hope as a "false mirage."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pont-au-change, Paris
  • Series/Portfolio: Eaux-fortes sur Paris (Etchings of Paris)
  • Artist: Charles Meryon (French, 1821–1868)
  • Date: 1854
  • Medium: Etching and drypoint on laid paper; fifth state of twelve
  • Dimensions: plate: 6 1/8 x 13 3/16 in. (15.5 x 33.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer Bequest, 1929
  • Object Number: 29.107.104
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Etchings of Paris; Title page to the suite, Charles Meryon French, Etching on brown wove paper; first state
Etchings of Paris; Title page to the suite
Charles Meryon
1852
La Loi Solaire, Charles Meryon French, Etching
La Loi Solaire
Charles Meryon
19th century
Presentation of Valerius Maximus to King Louis XI, Charles Meryon French
Presentation of Valerius Maximus to King Louis XI
Charles Meryon
1862
Rue des Toiles, Bourges, Charles Meryon French, Etching with drypoint; eighth state of eight
Rue des Toiles, Bourges
Charles Meryon
1853
An Old House, or The Musician's House, Bourges, Charles Meryon French, Etching with drypoint; fifth state of five
An Old House, or The Musician's House, Bourges
Charles Meryon
1860

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