Figuren rondom een nieuwsblad aan de oever van de Seine 1761 - 1762

Franz Edmund Weirotter created this print, Figures around a Newspaper on the Banks of the Seine, sometime before his death in 1771. It presents a window into the 18th-century Parisian public sphere. Here we see a group gathered to read news, a scene made possible by increasing literacy and the proliferation of printed media. Weirotter’s print captures a moment in the evolution of public life. Note the contrast between the figures and the imposing architecture in the background. The figures stand in the light, while the buildings appear dark and ruined. Is Weirotter implying that these ordinary people, empowered by access to information, represent the future, while the old structures of power are crumbling? To understand this image fully, we would need to delve into the history of the press in France and explore the social and political contexts in which it emerged. Only then can we grasp the significance of this seemingly simple scene.