Demolition for Tunnelling in the Boulevard Saint-Germain 1862

Maxime Lalanne made this etching, ‘Demolition for Tunnelling in the Boulevard Saint-Germain,’ using black ink on paper. The composition divides into a foreground of rubble and a background of skeletal buildings against a sky punctured by a distant dome and smokestack. The scene’s impact derives from the artist’s linear precision and the stark contrast between light and shadow. This print documents the urban transformations reshaping Paris during the Second Empire. Lalanne focuses on the raw materiality of the construction site, using dense, cross-hatched lines to convey the roughness of the stones and the instability of the half-demolished structures. The artist’s engagement with materiality extends beyond mere representation. The print challenges viewers to reconsider their relationship to the urban environment by exposing the chaotic processes beneath the city’s facade. The print functions as a symbol of progress and the cultural cost of modernization.