Passages des Vieilles Boucheries 1875 - 1885

Auguste Victor Deroy etched "Passages des Vieilles Boucheries," capturing a slice of Parisian life sometime before his death in 1906. The scene depicts a narrow street, lined with shops, possibly butcheries, under an overcast sky. Consider the historical context of late 19th-century Paris, a city undergoing rapid modernization and social change. Deroy's detailed rendering invites reflection on the working class experience in this era. The etching captures a sense of enclosure and the gritty reality of urban life. The passages, traditionally spaces of commerce and community, were also sites of labor, often gendered and classed. The subtle details of the architecture and the figures in the distance evoke a complex interplay between public and private life. Deroy invites us to consider the labor, lives, and stories embedded in the urban fabric.