Omnibus on the place de la Madeleine 

Antoine Blanchard painted this view of the Place de la Madeleine in Paris, probably in the mid-twentieth century, using oils on canvas. The image depicts a romantic vision of Paris. The artist invokes a vanished world of horse-drawn carriages and bustling street life. Blanchard was one of many twentieth-century painters who catered to a market for nostalgic views of the city. This painting invites us to consider the public role of art and the politics of imagery. The image creates meaning through cultural references and historical associations, and here Blanchard draws on an idealized vision of Paris, and romantic ideas about its past. Was this an attempt to resist, or perhaps ignore, the changing face of Paris in the twentieth century? The social conditions that shape artistic production can be understood by looking into historical sources, such as period guidebooks and municipal records. These help us to better reflect on the meaning of art as something that is contingent on social and institutional context.