Gezicht op de Porte Saint-Honoré 1677 - 1695

Adam Perelle made this print of the Porte Saint-Honoré in Paris around 1670 using etching. What can prints tell us about a city and its people? Here, the Porte Saint-Honoré functions less as a defensive structure than as a backdrop for Parisian life. Fashionably dressed figures stroll through the square, while horse-drawn carriages suggest the wealth and status of the occupants. Dominating the left side of the image is the imposing dome of the church of the Assumption. This visual emphasis reminds us of the power of the Catholic Church in 17th-century France. The print itself speaks to the growing market for images of Paris. The development of printmaking and distribution networks created new opportunities for artists like Perelle to profit from images of city life. To understand this image more fully, historians consult a range of sources: maps of Paris, prints by Perelle and his contemporaries, records of the Church of the Assumption, and studies of fashion and social life of the period.