Place de la Bastille 

Édouard Cortès captured the Place de la Bastille on canvas with oil paints. Rather than mixing colors precisely on a palette, Cortès applied individual strokes that the eye blends together. The painting’s charm lies in its textured surface and careful rendering. Cortès’s technique perfectly suits the scene. It evokes not just the look, but also the feel of a bustling Parisian street, where figures, vehicles, and buildings merge into a unified, lively composition. The loose brushwork mimics the city's own frenetic energy and ever-shifting light. While seemingly traditional, the painting has a modern quality. Cortès mass-produced similar scenes for the tourist trade. His artworks reflect the growing commercialization of art, appealing to a broad consumer base and highlighting how even fine art can be part of larger economic systems.