4 - Parading the Temporary: Cosmoramas, Panoramas , and Spectacles in Early Nineteenth-Century Paris

Summary

Abstract

The revolution of 1789 prompted various socio-cultural changes that deeply affected French society. Alongside the sense of instability that these events provoked, there are a number of open-air amusements, shows, exhibitions, and theatrical representations, from the Directoire and through the Napoleonic era. This chapter aims to analyze the mechanisms that allowed the development of these spaces. Ephemerality and temporality are central to this investigation, often determining the development of the space, its construction and functions, but also the cultural practices this comprehension of the space engendered. My objective is to discuss the visual models and cultural references enabling the rearrangement of existing areas and the rise of new “spheres” devoted to the consumption of entertainment.

Keywords: France, Napoleon, entertainment, theatre, shows

The diversity of shows: From hybridism to multiplicity of supports

Outdoor theatrical shows, art exhibitions, performances, displays, and urban parties rapidly became extremely popular. The French had become progressively accustomed to an expanding variety of entertainment offering and, more importantly, establishing and managing their social status through it. Claude Ruggieri, who had been the king's master of fireworks before the revolution, insisted on this pressing need for entertainment describing the founding of the Paphos, one of Paris’ most famous garden attractions as follows:

Paris, qui avait été trois ans plongé dans la tristesse et le deuil, ne songea plus, lorsque la terreur fut passée, qu’à se livrer à la joie. Bien que la satisfaction ne fut pas complete, au moins on commençait à respirer : les échafauds n’étaient plus en permanence ; le canon de la victoire avait succédé au canon d’alarmes ; on fetait d’un côté nos triomphes, tandis que de l’autre, la jeunesse abandonnait la politique pour la danse, le jeu de bague et la balançoire.

The increase in new shows is one of the key aspects of the development of the entertainment industry during this period. In parallel with the rise of public performances such as theatrical representations or scientific demonstrations, a plethora of shows developed, in various settings, ranging from open-air and semi-private spaces, to architectural structures “tailor-made” for a wide-range of individuals.