About The Photos

The photographs on our Web site evoke iconic representations of French and Franchophone cultures in France, Switzerland, Morocco and in the United States. All photos were taken by members of the Department of French Studies.

Galerie Vivienne [1823], the most elegant and luxurious of the passages couverts, Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Courtyard entry and façade of the Institut du Monde Arabe [1988], Paris, one of the Grands Projets commissioned by French President François Mitterand in the 1980s. Architect: Jean Nouvel.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

The entrance hall of the Louvre, under the pyramid [1989], one of French President François Mitterand's Grands Projets. Architect: I. M. Pei.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Le Mont Saint Michel, Normandy.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Basilique du Sacré Coeur [1875-1914], Montmartre, Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Open market food vendor, Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Naiade holding fish spouting water, in one of the two fountains, Place de la Concorde, Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Sailboats on Lac Leman, Geneva.
© Hélène Visentin

Gothic arches of Saint Eustache [1532-1632], Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Entrance to the métro in Paris [1899-1906]. Architect Hector Guimard.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Renaissance gardens at the Château de Villandry, in the Loire Valley.
© Janie Vanpée

The Eiffel Tower at sunset, seen from the apartment of the Paris JYA director.
© Janie Vanpée

A bouquiniste, a book seller's stall, along the Seine River, Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Equestrian statue of Louis XIV, Place des Victoires, Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

"Rose" window and stained glass, Notre Dame Cathedral [1163-1240], Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Sign welcoming visitors to Le Petit Canada, the French Quarters of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, traces of a continuing French presence in New England.
© Jonathan Gosnell

Typical door in Rabat, Morocco.
© Christiane Métral

Arbor in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Dawes House, la maison française. Watercolor by Kathleen Crowe '99.

Escalator at the Centre Pompidou [1977], which houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris. Architects: Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.
© Mary Ellen Birkett

Students on the junior abroad program in Paris 2008 jump for joy on an excursion to the Normandy beaches.
© Eglal Doss-Quinby

View of the main hall in the Musée d'Orsay. Built in the former train station, the gare d'Orsay, the renovated space opened in 1986 and now houses a collection of nineteenth-century European art, including the French impressionists. The interior design of the museum was conceived by a team of scenographers and architects directed by Gae Aulenti.
© Mary Ellen Birkett