Petite Pologne, destruction pour le boulevard Malesherbes

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A. P. Martial,  Petite Pologne, destruction pour le boulevard Malesherbes, 1861

The period 1853-70 marked the renovation of Paris by the Baron Haussmann, a favorite of the Emperor Napoleon III who decided to reorganize his city to include large, grid-like boulevards. The baron looked to cities like New York for inspiration, envisioning a highly-organized city whose many avenues would display the most prominent monuments and views. One major criticism of his process was that he displaced so many people from the heart of Paris, banishing them to its meager outskirts. Haussmann himself estimated the number to be around 350,000 citizens, a significant portion of the population. The etching above, Little Poland, destruction by the boulevard Malesherbes, shows the demolition of an immigrant neighborhood to make way for the luxuriant new roads.

All about the etching lies a sentiment of decay.  The neighborhood stands looking empty and desolate, its inhabitants forced to abandon it.  Tall rocks stand like forgotten megaliths by the roadside, helpless in the face of modernity. The living road swarms forth to engulf the edges of the painting with little regard for its victim culture. Paris's citizens and unique form of civilization pale in comparison to the need to renovate and usher in the new.

But this etching most convincingly portrays the new boulevard as a primordial power, like a force of nature.  It could almost be mistaken for a turbulent river. The question remains, then: will the Haussmannization of Paris revitalize the city, giving life to a modern utopia? Or will it simply destroy dependent subcultures and displace the poor? While present-day visitors stand in awe of Haussmann's modern Paris, contemporary critics mourned the capital's loss of identity and its transformation into a clone of lesser cities. The Paris inconnu of former generations had diminished to display its most beautiful perspectives glaringly like tacky, forward postcards, losing its sense of wonder and discovery.  Paris was reborn, but maybe not for the better.

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