Pagina uit L'Illustration met twee afbeeldingen van de sloop en vernieuwing van delen van Parijs in 1856 1856

Dieudonné Lancelot’s print from 1856, published in L'Illustration, depicts the transformation of Paris. Look closely at the images. The tower, a dominant motif, is a monument of man’s ambition, a reaching towards the heavens that has appeared throughout history, from the Tower of Babel to modern skyscrapers. In the lower image, we see construction. Scaffolding rises, echoing the tower, a symbol of progress. Consider the psychological implications: the simultaneous destruction and creation, the anxiety of change mingled with the hope for the future. This duality is not new. Think of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions, his two faces looking to the past and the future. The cyclical nature of destruction and renewal resonates through time, embodying a collective memory of perpetual transformation. What was, makes way for what will be, in an endless dance.