Light of Paris

As King Francois I once said, "Paris is not a city, it's a world." Long after the swarming crowd has deserted it, after the hum and buzz of traffic has subsided, Paris still resonates with a discreet life of its own. Working before sunrise and after sundown, photographer Jean-Michel Berts has created these dream-like black-and-white images, including Montmartre and the banks of the Seine. Following the Grands Boulevards and the footprints of Baudelaire, Brassa-, and Huysmans, the deserted streets of Paris take on a poetic, ethereal quality. Featuring beautiful text by the French novelist Pierre Assouline, this book is a moving homage to the city of lights. Each print is given ample breathing space in this volume, whose opulent trim size befits the spectacular quality of the shots.