Paris in the Snow, Viewed from the Tower of Saint-Gervais

Auguste Lepère climbed the tower of St. Gervais church to capture this vast, wintry view of Paris. To the right is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, whose spire and roof recently burned. The cathedral dominates Île de la Cité (Island of the City), the oldest section of Paris. At left is a bridge leading to Paris’s other island, Île-St.-Louis. The large dome on the horizon is the Panthéon. Originally built as a church, it is now a mausoleum where famous French citizens are buried. One of Lepère’s greatest contributions to art was the revival of woodcut printmaking as a fine art. Specifically, he was an extraordinary skilled wood-engraver, which involves carving very fine lines on blocks of dense, hard wood. Soon he would free himself to make broader, looser marks on softer, less-demanding wood, as seen in other prints in this exhibition.