Gezicht op het Pavillon Français en de tuin van het Petit Trianon 1860 - 1880

This stereoscopic card, created by Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy, captures the Pavillon Français and gardens of the Petit Trianon. Here, the carefully structured garden, stretching into the distance, speaks of order and control. The image features a symmetrical layout, a motif that harkens back to ancient Roman gardens, spaces designed to reflect power and dominion over nature. In those ancient gardens, and in the formal gardens of Versailles and its related structures, we see a desire to impose human will upon the wild. This concept has echoed through art and culture, reappearing in various forms across different eras. Consider how the controlled natural spaces stand in contrast to the chaotic and unpredictable forces of nature. This tension speaks to a deeper psychological longing for stability. The symmetry and order that are repeated throughout these spaces and echoed throughout human history serve as an attempt to manage the unmanageable, to give shape to the formless. Symbols like these are not static but are continually reborn.