Running through central Paris and surrounding the Ile de la Cité, the Seine introduced a broad open space into the heart of the city, even in the period when it was most densely overcrowded. But though Meryon shows us a broad expanse of water, it is walled in by the bridge, whose arches are further blocked by floating bath- houses, and by the steep wall at the right, crowned by the Palais de Justice. Only in the sky, dotted with ascending balloons, do we get a sense of unlimited space. 

In the foreground, people in a boat watch the balloons and ignore the struggles of a drowning man in the water nearby.  For Meryon, who lived in poverty and was to die in an insane asylum, the drama on the river was probably symbolic of the clash between his longing for artistic success and the desperation of his daily life.
 
 
 

RELATED LINKS

French Printmakers  Website includes Meryon among other artists.