A new perspective on the city

Caserne des Célestins à Paris, vue prise à vol d'oiseau, en 1877
Musée d'Orsay
Don Mmes Laure et Marguerite Varcollier, 1980
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
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In 1858, Félix Nadar took the first aerial photographs from the basket of a balloon, west of Paris. For a long time the preserve of a few aeronauts, this new view of the city became available to everyone thanks to Henry Giffard’s tethered balloons, which allowed visitors to the Universal Exhibitions to take flight. During the 1878 Exhibition, thousands of people discovered the panorama of Paris from the gondola of the huge aerostat moored in the Tuileries.
Revealing an unprecedented perspective on the capital, the ascents and aerial photographs caused a shift in the way people looked at the city. Appearing as early as 1855 with Victor Navlet’s spectacular Vue générale de Paris, prise de l’Observatoire, this change of perspective soon made its mark on urban architecture. Helped by the rise of aviation, the emancipation of the gaze became a form of artistic modernity and a new way of imagining the city. Explored by painters and photographers, the bird’s eye view was a favourite subject of the avant-garde.
Exhibition artworks

Autoportrait dans la nacelle du ballon "Le Géant", entre 1860 et 1865
Musée d'Orsay
Achat, 1995
© Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Alexis Brandt
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Caserne des Célestins à Paris, vue prise à vol d'oiseau, en 1877
Musée d'Orsay
Don Mmes Laure et Marguerite Varcollier, 1980
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
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Projet pour l'Exposition universelle de 1900, vue générale sur le Champ-de-Mars, en 1894
Musée d'Orsay
Don société des Amis du musée d'Orsay, 1992
© Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
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Lycée Louis-le-Grand, second avant-projet, perspective cavalière du lycée dans le quartier, et plan masse, entre 1880 et 1898
Musée d'Orsay
Don M. Claude Le Cœur, 1995
© DR
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Paris 11è, lycée Voltaire, avant-projet, vue à vol d'oiseau, en 1882
Musée d'Orsay
Achat, 2013
© Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
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Le seul oiseau qui vole au-dessus des nuages, en 1910
Musée d'Orsay
Don société des Amis du musée d'Orsay, 2006
© Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
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New York at Night, entre 1912 et 1913
Musée d'Orsay
Don Nicole Maritch-Haviland et Jack Haviland, 1993
ADAGP, Paris 2021 © Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Alexis Brandt
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Deux ouvriers regardant un enterrement du haut d'un échafaudage
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Thierry Le Mage

Dans la tour, entre 1888 et 1902
Musée d'Orsay
Don Roseline Granet, 1990
© Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Alexis Brandt
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Du boulevard de Clichy, entre 1888 et 1902
Musée d'Orsay
Don Roseline Granet, 1990
ADAGP, Paris 2021 © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / René-Gabriel Ojéda
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