Paris, Quartier Latin

Max Pollak

Max Pollak did this color intaglio using etching and color aquatint, which he printed a la poupeé, so each impression will vary a bit. His subject is the Latin Quarter in Paris around 1926 - an exciting time to be there.

The artist chose to show the Place St. Andre des Arts at night with dark skies and sidewalks, punctuated by the brightly lit signs and businesses when there were few people on the street. The Place is now almost always crowded with pedestrians and cafe sitters, but above it, all one can see the same craggy roofline that Parisian photographer and architectural documenters Charles F. Bossu and Eugene Atget photographed between the Rue Suger and the Rue St. Andre des Arts in the 19th century.

The boldly lettered advertisements covered the building walls from the second story to the rafters, including one familiar sign, ''Ressemelage'' on the red-fronted shoe repair shop that also announces "Ressemelage Universel" (Universal resoling). To the left is a shop advertising "Mercerie" (Haberdashery). To the far right is a cafe, over which is seen a large sign on the side of a building. The sign changed through the decades.