In a Parsian Department Store circ 1902
by Alexandre Lunois
"Electric Paris"
Illuminating the City of Light
Paris is known as the "City of Light." The French capital is admired for its art, architecture, cuisine, fashion and the finer points of haute culture, but how was the city illuminated after dark?
The Clark Museum in Williamstown, Massachusetts answers the obvious but often overlooked question. City of Light? The Clark, uses illustrations, lithos, paintings and images of this belle epoch in an interesting, if too small, glimpse into "Electric Paris."
The exhibit "Electric Paris" offers an novel glimpse into presentation of a subject from a very different angle--basically how technology changed a place but moreover how the technology looks in an otherwise familiar setting.
From the 1840's boulevards and many streets were lit by gas lamps--during the Second Empire 1852 and 1870 during the splendid and luminary reign of Napoleon III, the grand boulevards and buildings were lit by gas light. By the end of the 1870's electric lights shined brightly! Paris was one of the first cities to use widespread electric lighting. And how beautifully it bathed the new Eiffel Tower!
By the turn of the century in 1899, the City was transformed into the City of Light and its monuments, passions and poular culture were bathed in this new "technology."
The exhibit shows how lighting helped define Paris as a modern metropolis.
The Sterling and Francine Clarke Art Institute is located in Williamstown in the Berkshires. It's just down the road from Williams College. The exhibit has been extended until the 21st April.
www.clarkart.edu
Childe Hassam, Bois de Boulogne (1888)
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