Hedendaags Frankrijk

About this artwork

collector's mark: Lugt 2228a

Art Historical Context

**Hedendaags Frankrijk** (Contemporary France), created by Belgian artist Isidore-Laurent Deroy between 1861 1872, captures the spirit of mid-19th-century France paper, measuring a modest 290 × 434 mm. Deroy, a skilled lithographer and illustrator active in Brussels, was renowned for his detailed views of cities, historical scenes, and portraits. This work, likely a print, reflects the era's fascination with modernity during Napoleon III's Second Empire, a time of rapid urbanization, the 1867 Paris Exposition, and Baron Haussmann's transformation of Paris into a gleaming metropolis. The title *Hedendaags Frankrijk*—Dutch for "Contemporary France"—suggests a panoramic or illustrative depiction of French life, landscapes, or architecture, evoking the cultural vibrancy and industrial progress of the 1860s and early 1870s. As a work on paper, it highlights the rise of lithography, a technique Deroy mastered, allowing for affordable, reproducible images that brought current events and national pride to a wide audience. Bearing the collector's mark Lugt 2228a of Eugène Dutuit, a prominent 19th-century French connoisseur, this piece carries esteemed provenance. It offers visitors a window into how artists documented their rapidly changing world, blending technical precision with national identity.