Catacombes De Paris 1861

This photograph of the Catacombes de Paris was taken by Felix Nadar at some point in the 19th century. Nadar’s image gives us a glimpse into a unique space in Paris that has captured the imagination of the city’s population for centuries. The Catacombs are a subterranean ossuary that holds the remains of more than six million people. The bones were moved there in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when Parisian cemeteries were becoming too full and causing public health concerns. The Catacombs thus reflect a specific moment in the history of Paris, when public officials were trying to manage a growing population. The arrangement of skulls and bones into neat stacks and patterns also speaks to the 19th century desire to bring order to the chaos of death. Historians of photography have noted how challenging it was to take this photograph, given that it was underground and thus needed to be artificially lit. This photo by Nadar is more than just a portrait, it is a historical document that reminds us of the social forces that shape the spaces we inhabit.