Après-Midi, Cinquième Avenue, New York (Afternoon, Fifth Avenue, New York) 1908

Jean-Émile Laboureur sketched this scene of Fifth Avenue in New York, capturing a moment of urban elegance with pencil on paper. The top hat, here worn by figures amidst horse-drawn carriages, acts as a potent emblem of modernity and status. Consider the hat not merely as headwear, but as a signifier of social identity, echoing through time. It calls to mind the Phrygian cap of antiquity, a symbol of freedom, inverted here into a symbol of bourgeois life. Observe how the hat, worn throughout different epochs, accumulates varied meanings, transitioning from revolutionary emblem to a marker of class distinction. This transformation reflects the way collective memory reshapes symbols, a cultural palimpsest where each layer adds complexity. The sketch may trigger a sense of nostalgia or critique, engaging viewers on a subconscious level. Its appearance has been passed down through history and has shifted in meaning over time, proving its non-linear progression.