Hippolyte Jouvin, a French photographer and publisher of stereoscopic photographs, issued this albumen silver print as No. 102 in his celebrated series "Vues instantanées de Paris," published from 1863. The view is taken from an elevated vantage point across the Pont de la Concorde, with the Seine flowing below and the full expanse of the Place de la Concorde opening beyond. The term "instantanée" (instant view) refers to the fast exposure time that allowed Jouvin to capture figures actively moving through the streets.

The foreground is dominated by the stone piers and lampposts of the Pont de la Concorde, with pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages in motion across its span. Beyond the bridge, the Place de la Concorde spreads wide, populated with scattered figures, ornamental fountains, and rows of young trees. The Hôtel de la Marine and the Hôtel de Crillon flank the north side of the square, their classical colonnaded facades rendered with sharp architectural clarity, while the dome of a distant monument rises at the right horizon.

Art historians have argued that Jouvin's "Vues instantanées de Paris" may have been a source of inspiration to the Impressionists, and art historian Aaron Scharf drew particular comparisons between the elevated viewpoints in Jouvin's photographs and those found in the paintings of Gustave Caillebotte. Jouvin won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 for his photogravures.

The front mount is printed in the lower right: "No. 102., Place de la Concorde à Paris. Vue Instantanée." (No. 102., Place de la Concorde in Paris. Instant View.) The reverse of the yellow mount bears a pencil notation reading "2/21/10 COLAAN Eb."