Égouts De Paris 1861

Égouts de Paris is a photograph by Felix Nadar. The photograph captures Paris’s underground sewage system. Nadar had to invent a new system of artificial lighting to photograph in the Parisian sewers, a feat of both engineering and art. Let’s consider the significance of this location, this is a subterranean world that mirrors, yet remains deeply disconnected from, the glamorous boulevards of Haussmann's Paris above. While the city above ground was undergoing a massive transformation to reflect France’s economic and political power, the sewers remained a hidden, necessary yet unacknowledged part of the city’s functioning. Nadar's photographs ask us to consider what is unseen and unacknowledged in the pursuit of progress and beauty. It evokes questions about class, labor, and the hidden infrastructure that supports urban life. What does it mean to bring light to these dark spaces? This photograph ultimately confronts us with the relationship between visibility and value, and the hidden systems upon which our societies depend.