Left: Jean Beraud, Parisien place de la Concorde, circa 1890, oil on canvas, Carnavalet. Place de la Concorde plays a central role in Parisian history. During the Revolution of 1789 (actually during the following Terror) the guillotine was set up here. It is at the foot of the Champs Eylsees to the west and at the end of the Tuileries to the east. This painting reflects the fashionable life in Paris at the end of the century. This image is from Duby, L'Histoire de Paris par la Peinture.

Right: Lavialle de Lameillere's painting Le Palais de l'Industrie, 1890, oil on canvas, Carnavalet, shows a scene from the Industrial Exhibition that opened in 1889. Note to FR monogram above the entrance. This image is from Duby, L'Histoire de Paris par la Peinture.

Emile Zola writes Le Bete humaine.

H. Maspero authors Histoire de l'Orient. (CHF)

Vincent Van Gogh, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, 1890, Oil on canvas, 26 3/8 x 22 in. (67 x 56 cm),  Private collection, U.S.A. From Artchive: "In 1889, he became a voluntary patient at the St. Remy asylum,  where he continued to paint, often making copies of artists he admired. His palette softened to mauves and pinks, but his brushwork was increasingly agitated, the dashes constructed into swirling, twisted shapes, often seen as symbolic of his mental state   He moved to Auvers, to be closer to (his brother) Theo in 1890 - his last 70 days spent in a hectic program of painting. He died, having sold only one work, following a botched suicide attempt."

A. Valette founds a poetry review, Le Mercure de France. (CHF)

There are violent May Day demonstrations at the first festival of work. Anarchists are still active in France. May day demonstrations by socialists demand a nine hour work day. (CHF/AF)

The Casino de Paris is founded. (CHF)

The French cancan is a success at the Moulin Rouge. (CHF)

Maison Paquin, haute couture, opens on the rue de la Paix. This is in the second arrondissement near l'Opera. It is a prime shopping area today. (AF)

More broadly:

The electric tramway is introduced in Clermont Ferrand. (AF)

The world speed record for a locomotive (144kph) is set at Montereau. (AF)

Early efforts at flight occur, undertaken by Clement Ader. (AF) I'm not sure how this reference of 'premier vol en aeroplane' reconciles with the Wright Brothers.

There is an international convention in Brussels on the abolition of slavery, still common in Africa. (CHF)

France conquers western Sudan. (CHF)