Erezaal in het Duitse paviljoen tijdens de Wereldtentoonstelling te Parijs in 1900 before 1901

This photograph by Lévy Fils et Cie captures the German pavilion at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Right away, I’m drawn to how the image teases out so much form from a black and white palette. The composition really hums with the contrast between the ornamentation, the sculptures, and the painted mural hanging in the background. I find my eye bouncing all over the place, from one texture to the next, from the statues to the flowing lines of the mural. Check out the way the light sort of bounces off of that central sculpture. You can almost feel the presence of the viewers milling about in this space. It reminds me of certain works by Charles Marville, who was charged with documenting the changing face of Paris under Haussmann. Both artists seem to be saying something about the uneasy relationship between tradition and modernity. In the end, all we can do is appreciate the fleeting, fractured beauty of this moment in time.