Exterieur van de Opera van Parijs met voorbijgangers, koetsen en een paardentram c. 1880 - 1900

Louis Antoine Pamard captured this scene of the Paris Opera House with a photograph, a relatively new technology at the time, showing us a vivid slice of Parisian life. The building is adorned with classical sculptures, with winged figures, or victory angels, that crown its apex. These figures, reminiscent of Nike or winged goddesses from antiquity, connect the Opera House to a lineage of symbols of triumph and aspiration, seen across cultures from ancient Greece to the Renaissance. Consider how these figures reappear in various forms – in Roman arches, on Baroque facades, or even as hood ornaments on automobiles. Each reiteration adapts to its time, yet the core impulse remains: to invoke ideals of achievement. The arrangement of forms triggers something primal within us. This structure speaks to our deeply rooted fascination with grandeur and the collective human impulse to reach for something beyond ourselves.