Finance Ministry, Burned. Exterior View 1871

Alphonse-Justin Liébert captured this image of the burned Finance Ministry in Paris using photography, a relatively new medium at the time. Photography, unlike painting, allowed for a seemingly objective record of events, but it was still a process laden with choices. In this photograph, the material reality of the building is stark: stone reduced to rubble, metal twisted and broken, the absence of glass where windows once were. We see the aftermath of destruction, likely during the Paris Commune of 1871, a period of intense social and political upheaval. The act of burning the Finance Ministry was a direct assault on the symbols of wealth and power. Liébert’s choice of photography and the angle of the shot—a wide view that emphasizes the scale of the destruction—imply the deep social and political tensions inherent to the event. This image, therefore, transcends mere documentation, becoming a powerful statement about labor, politics, and consumption.