Muzikanten op een terras aan de Esplanade des Invalides, tijdens de Wereldtentoonstelling van 1900 1900

This stereoscopic card, made in 1900 by an anonymous photographer, presents two nearly identical images side by side, creating a three-dimensional effect when viewed through a stereoscope. The composition is structured around a terrace scene during the World Exhibition in Paris. Visually, the photograph is dominated by the contrast between the dark, dense trees in the background and the lighter, more open space of the terrace with its tables and chairs. This contrast draws the eye, creating a layered effect. The formal arrangement invites semiotic interpretation; the ordered rows of chairs and tables signify a structured, public space, while the musicians on stage represent performance and spectacle. The duplication in the stereoscopic format emphasizes repetition and the spectacle of modern life, mirroring the mass culture emerging at the time. Consider how the formal qualities of the photograph—the use of repetition and the interplay of light and shadow—reflect the broader cultural and philosophical context of the World Exhibition, an event itself designed to display and celebrate the advancements of modernity.