Interieur van de ontvangstkamer in het stadhuis van Parijs c. 1860 - 1880

This is a stereoscopic photograph of the reception room in the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, created by Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy. The photograph's symmetrical composition leads our eye down the room's central axis, flanked by imposing columns and elaborate chandeliers. The sepia tones and shallow depth of field evoke a sense of faded grandeur. Lamy has captured a space designed to impress, conveying the power and prestige of the city. The image's structural clarity and formal arrangement invite us to consider the cultural codes at play. The architecture communicates values of order and authority. By employing stereoscopy, Lamy not only documents the reception room, but also implicates the viewer in the spatial dynamic, inviting a form of participation and interaction. Ultimately, this photograph functions as a carefully constructed representation, one that offers insight into the aesthetic and ideological concerns of its time. As viewers, we engage with the image as an object of ongoing interpretation, recognizing the power of form to shape meaning.