Du flâneur au consommateur : spectacle et consommation sur les Grands Boulevards, 1840-1914

Examining the modernity of the Grands Boulevards as a site of spectacle, this essay underlines the commercial aspect. Renowned originally as an intellectually stimulating and visually refreshing promenade full of fleeting scenes, the Grands Boulevards increasingly attracted new, spectacular forms of commercial culture that underlined newness and fashionability. By the fin de siècle countless such spectacles assaulted the senses there, turning the flâneur, who enjoyed shifting scenes, into a consumer, whose attention was deliberately sought after. At the same time, the celebrations of the Grands Boulevards that were disseminated in texts and images spread the street’s reputation as uniquely impressive and entertaining. Although this reputation also yielded criticism of superficiality, artificiality and disorientation, it ultimately contributed in creating the image of Paris as a legendary city of modernity and pleasure.Cet article examine la modernité des Grands Boulevards, lieu de spectacle, et souligne leur aspect commercial. Reconnus à l’origine comme une promenade remplie de scènes fugaces, stimulantes intellectuellement et rafraîchissantes visuellement, les Grands Boulevards commencèrent à attirer progressivement de nouvelles formes de cultures commerciales fondées sur le spectacle et mettant en avant la nouveauté et la mode. À la fin du siècle, d’innombrables spectacles entreprenaient la conquête des sens des passants, transformantHazel Hahn Heajeong. Du flâneur au consommateur : spectacle et consommation sur les Grands Boulevards, 1840-1914. In: Romantisme, 2006, n°134. Les grands boulevards. pp. 67-78