Mid-nineteenth century Paris was a city in the midst of modernisation, and as such, was ripe for documentation of its changing landscape. Counted as one of the premier photographers of his day, Edouard Baldus captured the aesthetic of the Second Empire's ideology in his monumental views of both old and new Parisian landmarks.

St. Etienne du Mont is one such landmark. Located on the Montagne Sainte-Genevieve in the Fifth Arrondissement near the Pantheon, it is also present in the background of Baldus' views of the Pantheon. This image, however, presents the important church in its singular glory, taken from at such an angle that the iconic bell tower appears to be stretching to the sky.

The church contains the shrine of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris and also houses the tombs of Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine. Jean-Paul Marat's grave is also located in the church's cemetery grounds. Most notably, on January 3, 1857, Bishop Marie Dominique August Sibour was assissinated on this holy ground for opposing the idea of the Immaculate Conception.

A variation of this print exists in the collection of the Musee d'Orsay, Paris.