Pont-Neuf and the Samaritaine Seen from Under the First Arch of the Pont-au-Change, Paris
1855, after a drawing of the mid–1780s
Medium
Etching in dark brown on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image, including stray marks: 14.5 × 20.4 cm (5 3/4 × 8 1/16 in.); Plate: 14.5 × 20.4 cm (5 3/4 × 8 1/16 in.); Sheet: 19.2 × 24.4 cm (7 9/16 × 9 5/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
63832
Art Historical Context
Step into the shadowy arch of Paris's Pont-au-Change Charles Meryon's captivating etching *Pont-Neuf and theitaine Seen from Under the First Arch of the Pont-Change, Paris* (1855). This view peers toward the iconic Pont-Neuf—the city's oldest standing bridge—and the ornate Samaritaine building, a Renaissance landmark that once housed a famous pump and later a department store. Rendered after a drawing from the mid1780s, the work bridges the 18th and 19th centuries, preserving a pre-Haussmann glimpse of medieval Paris along the Seine. Meryon, a pioneering French etcher often hailed as the "Rem...
About the Artist
Charles Meryon · 1821–1868
Charles Meryon, born on November 23, 1821, in Paris, was the illegitimate son of English physician Dr. Charles Lewis Meryon and dancer Pierre-Narcisse Chaspoux (stage name Narcisse Gentil) at the Paris Opéra. His half-sister Fanny, from his mother's prior relationship with Viscount Lowther, remained in contact after their mother's death in 1838. Raised partly outside Paris before attending Pension...