[1] The photograph depicts the Immeuble d’habitation Maine-Montparnasse II, in the Rue Commandant-Mouchotte, in Paris, a work of French architect Jean Dubuisson, built from 1959 to 1964.
The picture was one of the first made after Gursky decided to use digital manipulation, and what is depicted can't be seen in reality, its only the artist's creation, because the view is blocked by buildings in either side of the frame.
In the words of Peter Galassi: “Like the multiplicity of Richter’s subtle tints and hues, each in its place, the flickering asymmetry of the window treatments of Gursky’s individual apartments enlivens the massive, rigorously organised whole with the impression of abundant variety”.
Martin Hentschell stated that the picture recalls "the stance assumed by the lead in Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rear Window.
Paris, Montparnasse becomes a ‘rear window’ blown up into megalomanical dimensions and tailored to the present day, whilst still maintaining the distance that is so decisive for Gursky”.