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Un quartier
embrouillé (A tangled neighbourhood) Illustration by Albert Robida, 1892 |
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Robida's detailed and
imaginative depictions of futuristic societies often blend elements
of science fiction with social commentary. His illustration Un
Quartier Embrouillé from his novel Le Vingtième Siècle
imagines a future Paris in the 19th or early 20th century, where the
city has evolved in a chaotic yet fascinating way. Rather than being
confined to traditional streets and buildings, the district takes to
the air, becoming a floating neighbourhood. A well-dressed woman
with a parasol and hat rides a sleek flying vehicle piloted by a
uniformed driver. She leans forward to hand a letter to a concierge
standing on a balcony, who doffs his hat in response. The scene is
dominated by a dense web of electrical wires stretching across the
sky, connected to towering poles bristling with insulators and
lamps. In the background, the cityscape is a mix of ornate buildings
and futuristic infrastructure, featuring signs for businesses and
offices. Overhead, airships glide through the sky, reinforcing the
artist’s vision of a world where airborne transport and electrical
networks have transformed daily life into a spectacle of
technological entanglement. Robida imagines how technological
advancements might influence urban life and the organisation of
societal elements such as vice and pleasure. |
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