Scene in the Bois de Boulogne (Pond with Fog)

Born Charles François Bossu, Marville was a successful illustrator and painter before he took up photography in 1850. By 1862 he was an official photographer for the city of Paris, where he chronicled Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmannʼs campaign to modernize the cityʼs infrastructure and architecture under the direction of Napoleon III. Inspired by Londonʼs Hyde Park, Napoleon established the sprawling Bois de Boulogne in 1852 as an urban sanctuary for all classes. He demanded that the new park have lakes and streams “to give life to this arid promenade” and to bring closer to home some of the peace found in the forest of Fontainebleau.