The Franco-Prussian war culminated in the terrible Siege of Paris. When peace came in 1871, it fell to the new government, the Third Republic, to bring about economic recovery. From about 1890 life was transformed: the motor-car, aeroplane, cinema, telephone and gramophone contributed to the enjoyment of life and the Belle Epoque (beautiful age) was born. Paris became a glittering city where the new style, Art Nouveau, decorated buildings and objects. The paintings of the Impressionists, such as Renoir, reflected the Joie de Vivre of the times, while later those of Matisse, Braque and Picasso heralded the modern movement in art.

- Cabaret poster: Toulouse-Lautrec's posters immortalised the singers and dancers of the cafés and cabaret clubs of Montmartre, where artists and writers congregated in the 1890s. 

- Central Hall of the Grand-Palais: The Grand Palais was built to house two huge exhibitions of French painting and sculpture at the World Exhibition of 1889. 

- Citroen 5CV. France led the world in the early development of the motor-car. By 1900 the Citroën began to be seen on the streets of Paris, and long-distance motor racing was popular. 

- Moulin Rouge: The old, redundant windmills of Montmartre became nightclubs, like the world-famous Moulin Rouge. 

- Galeries Lafayette (1906): This beautiful department store, with its dome a riot of coloured glass and wrought ironwork, was a sign of the new prosperity. 

- The naughty Nineties: The lumières brothers captured the daring negligée fashions of the 1890s in the first moving images of the cinematograph.

Paris Avant-garde