Gezicht op Saint-Cloud, met de Seine op de voorgrond 1895 - 1900

This photograph offers a view of Saint-Cloud with the Seine in the foreground, captured by an anonymous photographer. It invites us to consider the rapid transformations of 19th-century France, particularly through the lens of its urban and industrial development. The image is bisected by the river, and the barges in the foreground and the bridge in the mid-ground speak to the burgeoning infrastructure and river trade of the time. Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris, would have been undergoing significant changes, influenced by Haussmann's urban planning initiatives in the capital. To truly understand this photograph, one could delve into archives of urban planning documents and economic reports of the period. These sources could reveal the political projects of the time and offer insight into the lived experiences of those affected by urban expansion. By situating it within its social and institutional context, we recognize the photograph not just as a picture, but as a historical document.