Le Pavillion de Mlle. et une partie du Louvre

Executed almost entirely through etching—a process well suited to the artist’s color‑blindness—the work relies on delicate incised lines that hold ink on a metal plate before transfer to paper. The resulting texture highlights surface details such as wave patterns, architectural ornamentation, and fabric folds, aligning with the precise, linear aesthetic typical of 19th‑century French printmaking.

The print belongs to a series of Parisian vistas produced by Charles Meryon, a French etcher whose career was marked by personal hardship, including mental illness that led to his death in an asylum. Though celebrated in France as the pre‑eminent etcher of his era, his reputation has remained relatively obscure in English‑language scholarship.

Meryon’s work emerged during a period of intense interest in documenting the urban landscape of Paris, a city undergoing rapid modernization. His Gothic‑tinged perspective offered a counterpoint to the more celebratory depictions of the time, focusing instead on atmospheric mood and architectural decay.