Quay Saint Michel 

Edouard Cortes's "Quay Saint Michel" offers us a view of Parisian life as captured on canvas, likely sometime in the mid-20th century. The image presents a bustling scene along the Seine, with Notre Dame in the background, and people milling about, browsing books, and going about their day. Cortes's choice to depict this everyday scene prompts us to consider what aspects of French culture he’s trying to capture and for whom. Looking closely, we see visual codes of class and leisure, like the automobiles, which speak to the city's economic structures. The presence of the booksellers, or bouquinistes, is a particularly Parisian phenomenon, an informal economy of culture that persists to this day. Was Cortes simply reflecting the city or making a comment on its values? To understand this better, one might consult period newspapers, or the records of Parisian cultural institutions. Cortes's work encourages us to look beyond the surface and to examine the social conditions that shape artistic production and reception.