Echoes of Destruction

Mapping the Impressionist Imprint of the Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune

By Grace Edson

This capstone is the culmination of a year of research on the relationship between the Impressionist paintings of the 1870s and the geographical locations impacted by the detrimental destruction as a result of the Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune that ravaged Paris and its city fabric.

Master’s Capstone Project submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in Art History. Chair: Dr. Juliet Bellow; Reader: Dr. Ying-Chen Peng. 2023, American University, Washington DC.

Claude Monet, Argenteuil, Bridge Under Repair, 1872. Oil on canvas, 60 x 80.5 cm. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England.