The Light of Paris

Light at the Louvre

Post of the Day: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic together.
This series features travel photos from my archives, shared with you as we shelter in place.

May 24th, 2020

Paris is well known as the City of Light or La Ville Lumière. As I’ve learned today while looking into this, the name came about during the Age of Enlightenment spanning the early to late 1700s. Paris was a center for new ideas based on science and reason, with Voltaire and Rousseau at the forefront of the movement in France. Paris was also one of the first European cities to use lanterns and streetlights for improved safety – another reason for the city’s nickname.

Looking through my photos today, I noticed the element of light is evident across many of them but it’s the architecture of Paris that provides the ultimate canvas. The ornate facades of nearly every building in the city center cast shadows in equal proportion to their detail, doubling the intrinsic beauty of the streetscape. The columns, bannisters, window patterns, and profiles of the roofs and archways add unique depth. There’s hardly a flat or plain surface anywhere in Paris. Even the city’s open spaces are decorated with fountains and manicured gardens. The textural quality of literally every single thing brings the light of Paris to life in the contrast between highlight and shadow.

I hope you enjoy this collection of photos showing the light of Paris. Tomorrow we’ll visit a rooftop café with a different and spectacular display of color and light.

Until then,
Kelly

Galerie de la Cour d’Honneur

View in the 4th

Place des Vosges

Looking up at the Louvre

Afternoon delight

Light above Passage Verdeau

Afternoon light in the 9th

View near Île de la Cité

Sunset at Jardin des Tuileries

View from the Seine

Arc de Triomphe

Evening in the 6th

Bridge across the Seine

Sunset from Montmartre

Night at the Louvre

Love locked