Optocht met praalwagen tijdens Mardi Gras op een plein in Parijs 1896

Delizy captured this photograph of a Mardi Gras parade in Paris, where a float carries an effigy of a woman. The oversized figure, perched high above the crowd, bears a striking resemblance to carnival giants seen throughout Europe, echoing traditions from the ancient Roman Saturnalia to medieval Feast of Fools. These effigies serve as temporary embodiments of societal inversions, their exaggerated features inviting both celebration and critique. The presence of this figure in a public square suggests a complex interplay between collective joy and the anxieties of social order. Across centuries, we see such figures—from pagan idols to the grotesque masks of commedia dell'arte—reflecting humanity's deep-seated need to confront and, perhaps, control the chaotic aspects of life through symbolic representation. These manifestations resurface throughout history, revealing our cyclical engagement with primal forces and our attempts to give them form and meaning.