Drooggebleven straat met een dam tijdens de overstroming van Parijs 1910 - 1911

This photograph, Drooggebleven straat met een dam tijdens de overstroming van Parijs, was taken by G. Dangereux sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The tones are muted, almost monochromatic, like a memory fading at the edges. I imagine Dangereux wandering the streets of Paris, camera in hand, trying to capture the city's resilience amidst the flood. What were they thinking as they framed this shot? Were they struck by the way the light filtered through the bare trees, casting long shadows on the wet pavement? The stillness and solitude of the image are heavy. The composition itself is intriguing—the solid buildings on the right a bulwark against the uncertainty on the left. The light post acts as a solitary figure. Perhaps Dangereux was interested in the interplay between light and shadow, order and chaos, preservation and loss. The photograph is an expression of a specific moment, capturing not just the physical reality of a flooded street but also the emotional and psychological landscape of a city in distress. Photographers, like painters, offer us different ways of seeing and experiencing the world, prompting us to reflect on our own experiences and perceptions.