Exterieur van het Grand Hôtel aan de Boulevard des Capucines te Parijs c. 1865 - 1875

The Compagnie Photographique Debitte & Hervé created this photograph of the Grand Hôtel in Paris using an albumen print. The image presents a slice of Parisian life, capturing the grandeur of the architecture and the bustling activity of the boulevard. Constructed in the 19th century, the Grand Hôtel symbolized the rise of a leisure class and the emergence of tourism as a major industry. Its location on the Boulevard des Capucines, a central thoroughfare in Paris, reflects the city’s transformation into a modern metropolis during the Second Empire. The hotel itself was a kind of institution and a nexus of social and cultural exchange. Photographs like this one, mass-produced and distributed, played a role in shaping perceptions of Paris as a cosmopolitan center. To fully understand this image, one might consult architectural records, historical accounts of Parisian society, and studies of the development of tourism and photography during this period. Art, after all, is enmeshed in a broader tapestry of social and institutional forces.