Gezicht over de Seine en de Pont des Arts in Parijs c. 1855 - 1865

This stereoscopic image, a photographic print mounted on card, captures a view of the Seine and the Pont des Arts in Paris. It was created by F. Chevalier and A. Champeaux. This photograph, with its twin images designed for stereoscopic viewing, speaks volumes about 19th-century society's fascination with technology and its application to art and documentation. Paris, a rapidly modernizing city, becomes a subject for the camera, an object of both civic pride and entrepreneurial ambition. The Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge, symbolizes the crossing between the worlds of art and everyday life, highlighting how cultural institutions and public spaces were becoming intertwined in urban experience. To truly understand this image, we'd need to delve into the photographic archives of the time, explore the history of stereoscopy as a popular medium, and investigate the urban development of Paris under the Second Empire. This work offers a lens, both literal and figurative, through which to examine the social and cultural forces shaping the modern world.