Gezicht op de Pont de la Tournelle over de rivier de Seine en de Porte Saint-Bernard te Parijs

This print of the Pont de la Tournelle and the Porte Saint-Bernard in Paris was made by Basset in the late 18th or early 19th century using etching and possibly some engraving. This image presents us with an opportunity to consider the public role of art and the politics of imagery in pre-revolutionary France. The scene is carefully composed with an eye to classical order. The buildings are presented in a rational, clear manner, emphasizing stability and tradition. The people going about their business in orderly fashion suggest a well-regulated society. We might explore the archives of Parisian authorities from this period to ask how this kind of image served the purposes of civic administration. How did the institutions of art-making contribute to the construction of such scenes? Further, by looking at different kinds of images, we can ask whether they confirm or contest the social structures of the time.