Finance Ministry, Burned. Exterior View 1871

Alphonse-Justin Liébert's 1871 photograph, "Finance Ministry, Burned. Exterior View," depicts the aftermath of the Paris Commune's destruction of the French Finance Ministry during the Franco-Prussian War. The photo, now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, showcases the building's charred exterior, rubble-strewn street, and the stark reality of wartime devastation. Liébert, a prominent photographer of the era, captured the scene with a stark realism that reflects the historical moment, serving as a poignant reminder of the tumultuous events of 1871.