Le Peuple de Paris au XIXe siècle

I would so love to go to this exposition that is in Paris right now. It's called "Le Peuple de Paris au XIXe siècle" and it is running at the Musée Carnavalet until February 26. The exhibition examines life during the latter part of the nineteenth century in terms of violence against people, crime, the Commune...generally the untold story of the unwashed masses of the era. Consisting of artifacts and discussions of such cultural markers as la grisette, les Apaches, les ouvriers, la peur, the exhibit is laid out in a series of rooms. As Didier Daeninckx says, the exhibition space is literally framed between the barracades and crime, perfectly representing the two tensions of the time: one in the form of violence that attempts to change the world and the other a violence "suicidaire" among criminals. But mainly I want to go to this because the use the music from Taxi Driver during transitional bits of the clip. ;-)

The exposition consistes of a series of rooms grouped thematically. Here is a description of the room entitled "Life in Paris":

"Life in Paris" at that time might mean a variety of things: finding a place to sleep during a severe housing crisis, finding food at a time when buying necessities used up a large portion of a working class family’s budget, but also keeping clothed and physically taking care of oneself. Housing conditions were often difficult and were marked by a lack of privacy, whether you lived in a “garni” or in a furnished flat.

This exhibition room is built around a large central showcase, in the middle of which are exhibited several articles of clothing which, by a visual trick, are put in perspective with the other rooms. A long panorama, consisting of the façades of houses on the rue de Belleville taken by the L’Union Photographique Francaise, makes possible a re-creation of the general atmosphere of the quartier in 1906. Neighborhood social interactions and manners of speech and of carry oneself are all indicative of popular culture in Paris at the time.

While leisure time, especially for the working class, was limited, people still managed to enjoy themselves. Their activities were simple: a walk through the quartier, going to a cabaret, a dance in a tavern, or a picnic on the fortifications were the basic everyday pleasures of the era.

Atget, Petite chambre d'une ouvriere,
Rue de Belleville, 1910

There is an exhibition catalogue, if anyone wants to buy me a birthday present...

More information about "Le Peuple de Paris au XIXe siècle" can be found here.