‘Celebration on the Seine, 14 July’, from ‘36 Views of the Eiffel Tower’, by Henri Riviere 1902

From Henri Riviere’s ‘36 Views of the Eiffel Tower’, the print made using a lithograph in 1902, ‘Celebration on the Seine, 14 July’. Riviere splits the image through the middle using a bridge that runs through the Seine River of northern France. In the bottom of the composition are boats of people in the foreground. Cutting through the bottom perspective is a string of luminescent lanterns. Silhouettes of people gathered on boats face and watch the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Against the black night sky stands the Eiffel Tower at the center of the image. Streams of light beam from the top of the Eiffel tower and extend to each end of the image.

The perspective of the image is taken from a position of realistic perspective. A view of which a person who is celebrating amongst the people around them, the personal perspective is of importance in this image as well. Creating a balance of significance, not only the Eiffel Tower in the distance, but also the people in the water below, both are of equal importance in the Riviere’s print. Bastille day, the National Day of France, Reviere captures the importance of France using the symbol of the Eiffel Tower, and the equal importance of people of France, celebrating in the boats.

-Aaliyah Garinga