Rue de Lourcine

This image depicts a narrow street in Paris, France, which was soon to be demolished and replaced by the broader boulevards designed by George-Eugène Haussmann, director of the public works program. Charles Marville photographed both sides—the old and the new—of 19th-century life. He was perhaps the first photographer to immerse himself in the urban fabric rather than trying to isolate buildings from their contexts. He adopted the view of the pedestrian and in fact included himself in this scene leaning against a doorway on the left.