Paris: Portrait of a City

A city built on two millennia of history, Paris is entering the third century of its love story with photography.It was on the banks of the Seine that Niépce and Daguerre officially gave birth to this new art that has flourished ever since, developing a distinctive language and becoming a vital tool of knowledge.

Paris: Portrait of a City leads us through what Goethe described as a „universal city where every step upon a bridge or a square recalls a great past, where a fragment of history is unrolled at the corner of every street.“ The history of Paris is recounted in photographs ranging from Daguerre’s early incunabula to the most recent images―an almost complete record of over a century and a half of transformations and a vast panorama spanning more than 600 pages and 500 photographs. This book brings together the past and the present, the monumental and the everyday, objects and people. Images captured by the most illustrious photographers―Daguerre, Marville, Atget, Lartigue, BrassaĂŻ, Kertész, Ronis, Doisneau, Cartier-Bresson, and many more―but also by many unknown photographers, attempt to bottle just a little of that „Parisian air,“ something of that particular poetry given out by the stones and inhabitants of a constantly changing city that has inspired untold numbers of writers and artists over the ages.

Presenting an exciting patchwork of images from past and present, Paris: Portrait of a City is a huge and unique photographic study that, in a way, is the true family album of all Parisians. It is to them, and to all lovers of this capital city, that this vibrant, loving, and tender testimony is dedicated.

Editorial Reviews

Review
„Un livre réunit (enfin !) les Ĺ“uvres des plus grands photographes. Une histoire capitale. Attention: ce livre sur Paris est un inépuisable monument. Riche de plus de 600 pages avec autant de photos, il se lit d’une traite et se relit encore, tant ses détails sont instructifs.“ ― L’Express Styles

„Passionnant patchwork croisant les temps et les angles d’approches, les esthétiques aussi, voilŕ un recueil d’images ŕ consulter sans modération.“ ― Le Monde des Beaux Livres

„Visuellement et physiquement, l’objet est impressionnant avec ses 4.5 kg, ses 624 pages et ses 500 illustrations en provenance de plus de 150 photographes… Jean-Claude Gautrand signe ici un livre unique dans la lignée des grandes capitales mise en chantier par Benedikt Taschen.“ ― LaLettredelaPhotographie.com

„A luminous, voluminous portrait of Paris. Edited with an expert eye, the TASCHEN book shows off the city in many lights.“ ― International Herald Tribune

„Une bible en 600 photos. Tout lu, tout vu sur Paris? Cette chronique parisienne et journalistique risque fort de vous happer, si Paris vous tient ŕ cĹ“ur… Mémoire de la photographie ŕ lui tout seul, Jean-Claude Gautrand a une rare liberté de ton. Son Paris est un régal.“ ― Le Figaroscope

„Un ouvrage majeur… une anthologie magistrale, aussi complexe que peut l’ętre cette ville aux multiples visages et aux couleurs si changeantes, du gris des ardoises aux ors de palais… Gautrand atteint ici le grand Ĺ“uvre…“ ― photographie.com

About the Author
Jean Claude Gautrand (1932-2019) was one of France’s most distinguished experts on photography. An active photographer since 1960, he also made a name for himself as a historian, journalist, and critic, with numerous publications including his TASCHEN books on BrassaĂŻ (2004), Paris. Portrait of a City (2011), Robert Doisneau (2014), and Eugčne Atget. Paris (2016).