Zicht op een kanaal in Rouen 1832 - 1840

Eugène Lepoittevin made this print of a canal in Rouen, France. Notice the smoke from the factory chimney rising above the medieval buildings. Lepoittevin is not only showing us the picturesque waterways of this northern French city, but is also confronting us with the industrial changes of the 19th century. Rouen, situated on the river Seine, was a major port and industrial center. New factories brought wealth, but also pollution and social disruption. Consider how Lepoittevin is documenting this moment of transition. Is he celebrating progress, or lamenting the loss of the old ways? The answer may lie in the way he has framed the scene. He seems to invite us to consider how progress and tradition can live side by side. Looking at prints like these, historians consider the way economic forces and cultural traditions shaped the experience of ordinary people. Old maps, newspapers, and census records can help us get a more complete picture of the past. Art always means more when it is understood in its total social and institutional context.