Charles Meryon Etchings, Mnpls Institute of Arts

Unless you take a somewhat scholarly shine to period Parisian architecture or 19th century European etchings, don’t kick yourself for not knowing much about the French printmaker Charles Meryon. Viewed from a distance, his short life (1821-1868) bears all the marks of a tortured artist: troubled childhood, lingering depression, persistent poverty, time served in a mental hospital where he ultimately died alone and underappreciated. (Sounds like movie material to us—get Malkovich on the blower!) But it’s his dark and detailed etchings of Paris in the mid-1800s—particularly its famed bridges and medieval spires—that furnish a singular legacy. As the urban trappings of the industrial revolution began to encroach upon the city’s oldest stone buildings and landmarks, Meryon took to the task of sketching these architectural treasures in hopes of preserving their memory, inspiring successors from Baudelaire to Whistler. It’s a far cry from the debacle on Block E, maybe, but the protective nostalgia at the root of his obsession resonates just the same.