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Bell Towers of Paris: A Stroll through the City of Light
Part of the photographer’s challenge lies in capturing a familiar scene in a startling and original way, and Michel Setboun has succeeded in his beautiful work, Bell Towers of Paris . The acclaimed photojournalist spent five years climbing the steps of the French capital’s famed bell towers (most of them inaccessible to the public), cutting a bird’s-eye-view trail through the city that he records lovingly in the pages of this spectacular book.
From Notre Dame to Invalides, Sacré- Cœur to Hôtel de Ville, here are 160 breathtaking views of the City of Light as even its long-term residents have never experienced it—adrift and timeless. With a helpful map, and informative historical text by French journalist Pierre Guicheney, Bell Towers of Paris provides a whole new way of seeing one of the world’s most beguiling cities.
From Notre Dame to Invalides, Sacré- Cœur to Hôtel de Ville, here are 160 breathtaking views of the City of Light as even its long-term residents have never experienced it—adrift and timeless. With a helpful map, and informative historical text by French journalist Pierre Guicheney, Bell Towers of Paris provides a whole new way of seeing one of the world’s most beguiling cities.
- GenresNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
December 1, 2016
Updated April 16, 2019:
On Monday, the Notre Dame Cathedral burnt, and burnt. The spire collapsed, The Forest of oak roof caved, artifacts and statues in flame. Much is lost, but much more is forever gone. The Bell Towers survived, and so must have these gargoyles * perched in vigilance. Stony witnesses in silent screams.
Behind them, 900 years of history consumed by fire in a day. But they never look back, only forward as they always do, to rebuilding history one day at a time.
[* The two gargoyles on the cover appear to be facing the Seine towards Eiffel Tower]
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Original review Nov 30, 2016:
If any coffee book covers were to capture my attention, it would be this. A picture of two gargoyles perched on the bell towers of Notre Dame, keeping an eternal watch over the city as it settles into night.
Bell Towers of Paris - A stroll through the city of lights is a picture book that promises romantic luminosity and old world nostalgia as seen through the lens of Michael Setboun, a Parisian native and photographer. On reading Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris, Setboun was inspired to view Paris and the Seine through the eyes of Quasimodo suspended high above the city.
The book has an introduction by Setboun, ten detailed itinerary around Paris and about 175 pages of full-color, often double-paged, glossy photographs captured with only natural lightning from city lights, moon and sun. The pictures played with shadows beautifully, and were portrayed in an evocative manner that imbue the senses.
Little has changed since Victor Hugo described this view from Notre-Dame in 1831; in his words: It was an immediate dazzlement of roofs, chimneys, streets, bridges, squares, spires, and bell towers. Everything caught your eye at the same time: the square, the decorated church tower, the large, the small, the massive, the lofty - and for a long time the eye lost its way, deep in this labyrinth where there was nothing without originality, without its own reason, genius, or beauty.”
Photo Credit: Michael Setboun. . Some samples:
On Monday, the Notre Dame Cathedral burnt, and burnt. The spire collapsed, The Forest of oak roof caved, artifacts and statues in flame. Much is lost, but much more is forever gone. The Bell Towers survived, and so must have these gargoyles * perched in vigilance. Stony witnesses in silent screams.
Behind them, 900 years of history consumed by fire in a day. But they never look back, only forward as they always do, to rebuilding history one day at a time.
[* The two gargoyles on the cover appear to be facing the Seine towards Eiffel Tower]
*******************************************
Original review Nov 30, 2016:
If any coffee book covers were to capture my attention, it would be this. A picture of two gargoyles perched on the bell towers of Notre Dame, keeping an eternal watch over the city as it settles into night.
Bell Towers of Paris - A stroll through the city of lights is a picture book that promises romantic luminosity and old world nostalgia as seen through the lens of Michael Setboun, a Parisian native and photographer. On reading Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris, Setboun was inspired to view Paris and the Seine through the eyes of Quasimodo suspended high above the city.
The book has an introduction by Setboun, ten detailed itinerary around Paris and about 175 pages of full-color, often double-paged, glossy photographs captured with only natural lightning from city lights, moon and sun. The pictures played with shadows beautifully, and were portrayed in an evocative manner that imbue the senses.
Little has changed since Victor Hugo described this view from Notre-Dame in 1831; in his words: It was an immediate dazzlement of roofs, chimneys, streets, bridges, squares, spires, and bell towers. Everything caught your eye at the same time: the square, the decorated church tower, the large, the small, the massive, the lofty - and for a long time the eye lost its way, deep in this labyrinth where there was nothing without originality, without its own reason, genius, or beauty.”
Photo Credit: Michael Setboun. . Some samples:
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