Artwork

Paris en Train. Démolition du théâtre du Vaudeville: rue du Dix-Decembre

Paris en Train. Démolition du théâtre du Vaudeville: rue du Dix-Decembre is a print by the Impressionist artist Alfred Taiée. It dates from 1869 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

On the right, a tall clock tower stands next to a narrow street lined with tall, skinny buildings.

This sketch shows a city street under demolition. A horse-drawn cart sits in the middle, surrounded by piles of rubble and broken buildings. On the right, a tall clock tower stands next to a narrow street lined with tall, skinny buildings. Snow covers the ground, and the sky looks stormy.

The artist focused on how cities change fast—buildings torn down, streets reshaped. The title hints this is Paris in 1869, during a major overhaul.

Check out Realism to see how artists captured everyday life like this.

Overview

Alfred Taiée’s 1869 print titled *Paris en Train. Démolition du théâtre du Vaudeville: rue du Dix‑Decembre* depicts a Parisian street in the midst of demolition. The scene is anchored by a horse‑drawn cart amid rubble, a narrow boulevard flanked by slender façades, and a towering clock‑tower under a storm‑clouded sky. The work is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection.

Subject & Meaning

The image records the dismantling of the Vaudeville theatre on Rue du Dix‑December, a concrete example of the rapid urban restructuring that reshaped mid‑nineteenth‑century Paris. By foregrounding the debris and the lingering presence of everyday traffic, Taiée emphasizes the transitory nature of the city’s built environment and the lived experience of its inhabitants during large‑scale redevelopment.

Technique & Style

Executed as a print, the work relies on stark contrasts of line and tone to convey the weight of the rubble and the bleak weather. Taiée’s handling of perspective compresses the street’s depth, while the precise rendering of architectural details reflects a realist approach to documenting contemporary urban scenes.

History & Provenance

Created in 1869, the print entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings at an unspecified date, where it remains on view as part of the museum’s European print and drawing collection. Its provenance prior to acquisition is not detailed in the available records.

Context

The demolition shown occurred during Baron Haussmann’s extensive renovation of Paris, which involved the removal of many older structures to make way for wider boulevards and uniform façades. Taiée’s work aligns with a broader realist interest in portraying the everyday consequences of such civic projects, offering a visual counterpart to contemporary written accounts of the city’s transformation.