Vuurtoren van Espiguette before 1883

This is an early photograph of the Vuurtoren van Espiguette. It was created by an anonymous photographer as part of a series called "Les Travaux Publics de la France." Photographs such as this one captured the modernization and industrial progress in France. What you see is a lighthouse, which, in its function, serves as a symbol for both guidance and control. The artist, in choosing this subject, engages with prevailing notions of the time. What is compelling in this photograph is the visual interplay between land and sea, between nature and these new industrial developments, and between the known and the unknown. The photograph becomes a study of contrasts and tensions in the face of social and technological change. It invites reflection on the relationship between progress and place, and our collective hopes and anxieties.