Tentoonstellingszaal op de Wereldtentoonstelling van 1889 in Parijs 1889

This albumen silver print, created by Neurdein Frères, captures a hall at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. The photograph’s sepia tones contrast with the scene it depicts: an iron and glass structure, flooded with light. Look closely, and you will notice that the ironwork is not just structural, but richly ornamented. It mimics historical styles of decoration, updated for the industrial age. This elaborate ironwork reflects the enormous labor needed to produce it. The creation of these components involved not just designers and architects, but foundry workers, metalworkers, and assemblers. The building itself becomes a monument to industrial-scale production. The Great Exhibition was, after all, a celebration of global capitalism. The image invites us to consider the social context of such a monumental project. It makes you wonder: who were these workers, and what were their lives like? This photograph reminds us that any aesthetic experience is also a material and social reality.