Chinese paviljoen op de Wereldtentoonstelling van 1900 1900

This is a stereoscopic card showing the Chinese pavilion at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. While we don't know who took the photograph, its mass production speaks volumes about the industrialized world of that time. Stereoscopic cards like this one were made through a combination of photographic and printing techniques, offering a cheap thrill for the late-19th century consumer. The photographic negative captured the image. From there, it was mechanically reproduced on paper using photo-printing technologies. The black and white image lacks the color and texture of real life, but the stereoscopic format creates a convincing illusion of depth. By viewing the card through a special viewer, a single 3D image appears. This simulates binocular vision, and was all the rage at the time. The photograph itself captures the exoticism and orientalism that underpinned the Exposition Universelle. Pavilions like these were not simply displays of culture. They were expressions of global power, where nations showed off their technological and colonial achievements. The production and consumption of images like this played no small part in that global dynamic.