The Arcades Project - Operi

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TI,e Pant-Neuf. Etching by Charles Meryan, 1853-1854. See J2,3.
Bizarre features on plates hy Meryon. The Rue des Chantres" : squarely in the
foreground, affixed at eye-level on the wall of what would seem to be a nearly
windowless house, is a poster hearing the words "Sca Baths." -"The College Henry IV," about which Geffroy writes: " All
around the school, the gardens, and neighboring houses, the space is empty, and
suddenly Meryon hegins to fill it with a landscape of mountain and sea, replacing
the ocean of Paris . The sails and masts of a ship appeal', some flocks of sea birds
are taking 'Wing, and this phantasmagoria gathers around the most rigorous design,
the tall buildings of' the school regularly pierced by windows, the courtyard
planted with trees, . . . and the surrounding houses, with their dark rooftops,
crowded chimneys, and blank fal,;ades" (Geffroy, Charles Meryon, p. 151).-"The
Admiralty": in the clouds a troop of horses, chariots, and dolphins advances upon
the ministry; ships and sea serpcnts are not lacking, and several human-shaped
creatures are to he seen in the multitude. "This will be ... the last view of Paris
engraved hy Meryon. He bids adieu to the city where he suffered that onslaught of
dreams at the house, stern as a fortress, ill which he did service as a young ensign,
in the springtime of his life, when he was just setting out for the distant isles"
(Geffroy, Charles Meryon, p. 161). 0 Flaneur 0 (J2a,lJ
"'Meryon's execution is incomparable, Beraldi says. The most striking thing is the
beauty and dignity of his firm, decisive line. Those fine strajght edges are said to be