A View of Paris from the Pont Neuf

Jean-Baptiste Raguenet’s A View of Paris from the Pont Neuf is a lively snapshot of daily life in the mid-18th century, capturing the energy of the city's most important bridge.

Raguenet was a painter specializing in these accurate city views. The focus is not just on the architecture, but on the teeming activity of the people. The Pont Neuf, though its name means "New Bridge," was already the oldest surviving bridge in Paris and a vital commercial and social hub.

The painting documents a colorful mix of people: merchants selling their goods, ordinary citizens crossing, and carts moving through. This work serves as an invaluable historical record, showing the exact look of the buildings and the way Parisians dressed and interacted in a bustling, central public space.