Exposition Universelle-Palais de l’Optique La Grande lunette de 1900 1900

Editor: Here we have Georges Paul Leroux’s color lithograph, "Exposition Universelle-Palais de l’Optique La Grande lunette de 1900", made in 1900. It really grabs my attention with the striking contrast between light and dark. What structural elements do you find most compelling in this print? Curator: The composition is primarily defined by the dichotomy between the solid geometric forms below and the soft organic shapes above. Note the tension created between the sharp architectural rendering of the Palais and the fluid drapery of the figure. The circle is of particular importance, a flat abstract plane amidst detailed representational forms. Editor: I see what you mean. The contrast is not just light and dark but also hard and soft, structured and free-flowing. Can you elaborate on the semiotics? What does the circle symbolize, or perhaps, represent within this structural composition? Curator: The large disc acts as a focal point, mediating between the architectural rigidity and the draped figure, but the surface plane of that disc competes with the recession implied by the building and figures. It is an assertion of two-dimensionality within an image striving for perspectival depth. Also, the figure supporting the disc is crowned. Note the art nouveau design and typography. How does that interplay with the thematic construction? Editor: Now that I consider that crown as another circle on the head of a person, supporting another bigger circle in the hands, the surface tension with depth appears amplified! Thanks! Curator: Precisely. These juxtapositions of space and surface are fundamental to this print's visual grammar. And indeed, it shows us the vital power of signs, symbols, and intrinsic structures to generate deeper comprehension of a print that may look ‘superficial’ at first glance!