Musée Carnavalet embarks on an unusual journey through time to the heart of popular 19th-century Paris.

Between the end of the French Revolution to the beginning of WWI, Paris was undergoing constant evolution, facing a soaring population, the industrial revolution and urban transformations. A soundscape evoking the street life of the 19th century takes the visitor through the sinuous and narrow alleys of the city, to meet "the people", the majority social class of this period but also a mythical Parisian figure since the French Revolution.

All aspects of daily life are addressed through a rich iconography from the collections of the Carnavalet Museum as well as many archival documents and artifacts from about 20 municipal museums. The exhibition deals with all aspects of the living and working conditions of the Parisian working class: where did they live? What did they eat? How did they dress? What did they do for entertainment?

Built around Daumier's humorous and tender caricatures, the exhibition sheds a picturesque, amusing, scary or tragic light on a world of rag-and-bone men, seasonal migrants, suburban workers, criminals and "grisettes" in Paris' taverns, cabarets and dance-halls.

The last rooms of the exhibition are dedicated to the ruling class' fear of this multi-faceted working class. The exhibition also implicitly deals with the issues of precariousness, immigration, urban segregation and child living conditions. The exhibition concludes with the insurgencies and riots which marked the 19th century and made the Parisian people go down in history.

Curator:
Miriam Simon, head curator of the Carnavalet museum’s graphic arts department, with help of Elodie Massouline.

The exhibition is organised with the support of the Crédit Municipal de Paris:
Lectures, activities and roundtables will be held at the Carnavalet Museum and at the Crédit Municipal de Paris during the five months of the exhibition.

In partnership with the Forum des Images:
In December, part of the Forum des Images' programs will be dedicated to 19th-century Paris. Admission is free upon presentation of your exhibition ticket.