Rue Jean-de-Beauvais. Vue prise de la rue des Écoles vers la boulevard Saint-Germain, en travaux

Stairs rather than a traffic intersection mark where it meets the rue des Écoles, which is seen in the foreground and is higher in elevation. In the background, the light area is the intersection of rue Jean-de-Beauvais with the Boulevard Saint-Germain, seen here under construction. Haussmann strung together and widened numerous narrow older streets to form the long, airy boulevard. Charles Marville makes our eye traverse the dark, narrow medieval street before we emerge into the sunlight of the modern thoroughfare.