Innocents Abroad: American Painters at the 1867 Exposition Universelle, Paris Author(s): Carol Troyen Source: American Art Journal, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Autumn, 1984), pp. 2-29 Published by: Kennedy Galleries, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1594386 . Accessed: 06/08/2013 14:39 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Kennedy Galleries, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Art Journal. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 129.2.19.102 on Tue, 6 Aug 2013 14:39:24 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INNOCENTS ABROAD: American Painters at the 1867 Exposition Universelle, Paris CarolTroyen THE FIRST OF APRIL and the last day of vious fairs in the scale and diversityof its exhibits.It BETWEENOctober, 1867, over eleven million visitors - was the biggestinternational fair until that time, andthe more than twice the numberthat had attendedthe most profitable,netting some 2,800,000francs; it at- previousParis fair, in 1855- streamedacross the Pont tracted tourists from all over the world who gawked d'Iena to see the marvelsdisplayed at the Exposition equallyat the displaysand at each other. Universelle(Figs. 1and 2). Gatheredat the vastgrounds Intriguedby the fabledattractions of Paris- the of the Champ de Mars were the pavilionsof some Morgue, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the much-pro- 50,000 exhibitorsfrom thirty-two countries, providing moted sewers - Americansfound the Expositiona intriguingviews of pastand distant cultures, the best of special inducementto come to Parisin 1867.Bearing present-daydomestic, fine, and commercialarts, and their guidebooksissued especiallyfor the Exposition industrialmiracles predicted for the future.One could year, travelersventured forth from the familiarcom- tour replicasof the templesof Philaein Egypt(Fig. 3) forts of the GrandHotel on the Boulevarddes Capu- and Xochicalco in Mexico, a life-sized re-creationof cines, past the recentlyunveiled south front of Charles the Roman catacombs, an English mail train, and a Garnier'sOpera House, throughthe seeminglyendless working model of the Suez Canal. In the mammoth galleries of the Louvre, lately enlargedby Napoleon glass and iron exhibitionhall designed by engineer III, down the new boulevardsof the VIII arrondisse- Frederic Le Play on the model of the CrystalPalace ment (which at the Emperor'sdirection the Baron were displayed artesianwells from Algeria,the me- Haussmann had htirriedto complete in time for the chanical elevator of M. Edoux (capableof liftingits Exposition), and into the fair. There it was not the passengerstwenty-five meters above the galleryfloor displays of high culturewhich attractedthem, but the in less than two minutes)and, an ominous portent, curiosities:"tattooed South Sea Islanders"and other cannons and military equipment manufacturedby exotic peoples, and mechanizedtrinkets such as "a Krupp,the Prussianmunitions expert. silver swan ... swimmingabout ... [whichwe saw] At the edges of the exhibitionwere entertainments seize a silverfish fromunder the water,and hold up his of all kinds:concerts conducted by Strauss,Offenbach, head and go throughall the customaryand elaborate and Rossini (who wrote a "Cantatade l'Exposition" motionsof swallowingit." But the mostthrilling sights expresslyfor the fair);dances; regattas; boxing matches; were in the Palace of Industry,and Americanswrote and performancesby sword-swallowers,jugglers, and home boastingthat their machinery was far superiorto conjurers.By the end of May, the crowds were so the entriesof all othernations: "The Locomotiveis by enormous that a moderatelypopular restaurant was far the finest there. I can't tell you how meanthe best serving 1500 lunches and 5000 dinnersa day, and a English,French and Belgian ones arealongside of it."2 transportationsystem designedto carry11,000 passen- These machines,and the other Americancontri- gers per hour to and from the Champde Mars was butions to the Exposition Universelle, presented already proving inadequate.1The Exposition,which much-idealized,if divergent,images of Americanlife. would prove to be the last celebrationof the material While some displaysrepresented America as a landof achievementsof the SecondEmpire, surpassed all pre- Rousseaueaninnocence and promise, and as a paragon of Democracy, others emphasizedYankee ingenuity, and still others promotedAmerica as a centerof great For a complete listing of the American works of art culturalachievements. Thus, the onlybuildings erected included in the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, to illustratedaily life in Americawere a log cabinand a see this article's Appendix. one-room schoolhouse. That such rustic architecture -Eds. was the source of America'sstrength was admiringly noted by Frenchcritics, who also commendedAmeri- CAROLTROYEN is AssociateCurator of AmericanPaintings ca's egalitariansocial structure,pointing out that, in theMuseum Fine at of Arts,Boston. America's railway system, displayed at the Exposi- The American Art Journal/Autumn 1984 3 This content downloaded from 129.2.19.102 on Tue, 6 Aug 2013 14:39:24 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 4 ' " :,1%,::: ::...:. :: . :' :g 'ii;.:::SA'j:1 :4: ;.I:.:.? .:.?: ".: 'm ..... .. ..j::i. :.' .? - " , ". - ..., .' . .... .: ..z ":: ... ... ..H'?iii .? " ? , -;4.::. ::- .n'ii., . .:mm........ .: - 1::.::::.."i .:. , ' ::?::::l .: ....; ... .::::.:?i,:,: ;;x:?n::?i.%ii';?i.. .. .."" 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