Sixty-Five Feet Under
Explore haunting photographs of Paris’s Catacombs
Mannequin tirant un chariot d'ossements, 1861, Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]. Albumen silver print. Getty Museum
Body Content
Below the asphalt in the City of Lights, plunging as deep as a five-story building, is an underground ossuary containing the remains of millions of Parisians.
Built in the late 18th century to solve a public health and sanitation problem caused by overflowing cemeteries, the Paris Catacombs were still under construction when renowned portrait photographer Gaspard Félix Tournachon, better known as Nadar, went to photograph them and produced 100 images. “[O]ne of those places that everyone wants to see and no one wants to see again” is how Nadar described the labyrinth of tunnels, stacked with skulls and other bones. He had been commissioned by the catacombs’ mining engineer and director—and Nadar put an indelible spin on the assignment.
View in the Catacombs, 1861, Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]. Albumen silver print. Getty Museum
One interesting aspect of the series is its eerie figures, and while it may look like Nadar photographed the men working to build the underground gravesite, the figures seen were actually life-like mannequins (it’s worth noting that two of Nadar’s friends had passed away around the time that he took these photos; so he may have been exploring his own mortality when he embarked upon this series.)
The Reception of the Bones, 1861–1862, Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]. Albumen silver print. Getty Museum
Another remarkable feature of these photographs is that they were also some of the first ones taken with the use of artificial light. Nadar, a pioneer of the innovation, lit the catacombs with a magnesium lamp.
View in the Catacombs, 1961, Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]. Albumen silver print. Getty Museum
The Catacombs of Paris. The Pause., 1862, Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]. Albumen silver print. Getty Museum
By posing the dummies and through the spectacular use of the artificial light, Nadar achieved a natural yet ghostly realism. However, there is one living being who was alive at the time who he did photograph for the series: himself. The story goes that Nadar couldn’t ask anybody to pose for the 18-minute exposure time, but that didn’t stop him from capturing an ultra-macabre self-portrait.
Autoportrait de Nadar dans les Catacombes, 1861, Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]. Photo: Clicsouris, CC PD Mark, via Wikimedia Commons
Nadar later wrote, “Death, the great equalizer, abolishes all distinctions of history, class, reputation, rich and poor, famous and anonymous…” but his legacy does live on through his memorable photographs.
For more spooky content, head to Getty’s Instagram to watch Macabre Minute with Mel.
