Nadar : inventer Paris, des profondeurs au ciel

On the occasion of the bicentenary of photography, a little-known facet of the famous photographer and portraitist Nadar will be brought to light: that of the prolific inventor who documented Paris "from every angle".

As part of the site's recent renovation, the Catacombes de Paris now offer a new visitor route complemented by a programme of temporary exhibitions, highlighting the unique history of this site, famous worldwide but still relatively unknown to French and Parisian residents.

Presented each autumn in the reception area or along the underground route, these exhibitions aim to delve deeper into various themes, periods, or significant events through artistic, historical, or technical approaches, thereby enriching the visitor experience.

New perspectives As part of the Bicentenary of Photography, this first display pays tribute to the pioneering role of Félix Tournachon, known as Nadar (1820-1910).

Between 1858 and 1868, using Paris as the privileged ground for his numerous underground and aerial experiments, Nadar profoundly revolutionised the use of photography by overcoming immense technical challenges.

The photographs he took in the Catacombs, about twenty of which were acquired by Paris Musées in 2023, constitute exceptional testimony. These were the first underground images taken using electric light, a process invented by Nadar, and also the first known images of the site.

As an introduction to the visit of the Catacombs site, the display presents a collection of about fifteen reproductions of these photographs taken by the artist in the ossuary in 1862 and then in the sewers of Paris in 1865, juxtaposed with the first aerial views of Paris immortalised in 1868 from a balloon.

Due to the great fragility of the original prints and documents, the exhibition presents only reproductions.

Complemented by archives (reproductions of patents, advertising posters, drawings, and caricatures), these images bear witness to Nadar's major role in shaping the imagination of the City of Light.