A View of Paris from the Pont Neuf

Paris comes alive in this 1763 view by Jean-Baptiste Raguenet, painted from the Pont Neuf as it stretched across the Seine. Carriages pulled by horses cross the wide stone plaza, well-dressed Parisians gather in small groups, and a little dog wanders through the scene. Along the river sit rows of stately buildings, with a church dome rising in the distance beneath a big sky full of pale, moving clouds. At the center stands an equestrian statue of Henry IV, a much-loved French king, which anyone in the city would have known at a glance.

Raguenet worked in a tradition of French cityscape painters who specialized in "vedute," detailed views meant to show real places as accurately as possible. That careful eye makes his work useful to us in an unexpected way, since it preserves the look of Paris before the sweeping changes of later centuries. His skill lies in the balance he strikes between the airy stretch of clouds above and the crowded, chatty street below. More than a pretty picture, this is a genuine record of a city that has since transformed almost beyond recognition.