The Palace of Education and the school to see at the 1900 Paris Exposition

Keywords: museum, photography, architecture, Universal Exhibition

Abstract

This paper examines the presence of education at the 1900 Paris Exposition through the construction of the Palace of Education, the configuration of the Retrospective Museum, and the exhibition of materials and photographic images, all of which aimed to present the school life in France and other participating countries. The exhibition allowed for a comparative analysis of the development of education at various levels across nations and the establishment of civilized centers, considered as milestones to be achieved. Based on the catalogs published for this Universal Exposition, it was possible to analyze the curators' concerns regarding the limited availability of images and materials to demonstrate the progress made in schooling, and to observe that photography was employed both as a tool for documentation and to showcase the French school of the time.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Zita Rosane Possamai, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

PhD in History from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, with postdoctoral training at Paris 3 University, Sorbonne Nouvelle. Retired full professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, where she serves as a visiting professor in the Graduate Program in Education and in the Graduate Program in Museology and Heritage. CNPq Productivity Fellow. Member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and of the National Association of History (ANPUH).

References

Abbattista, G. (2018). Beyond the “human zoos”: Exoticism, ethnic exhibitions and the power of the gaze. Ricerche Storiche, (1–2), 207–218.

Bibliothèque de l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris. (1900). Le livre d’or de l’Exposition de 1900. Édouard Cornély.

Cioato, A. (2021). “L’enseignement par les yeux”: Uma coleção de quadros parietais no Museu Anchieta de Ciências Naturais (Porto Alegre, RS) (Dissertação de mestrado). Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.

Didi-Huberman, G. (2020). O que vemos, o que nos olha. Editora 34.

L’Exposition de Paris (1900): Publiée avec la collaboration d’écrivains spéciaux et des meilleurs artistes (1898–1900). (1900). Librairie Illustrée Montgrédien & Cie.

Fontaine, A., & Matasci, D. (2015). Centraliser, exposer, diffuser: Les musées pédagogiques et la circulation des savoirs scolaires en Europe (1850–1900). Revue Germanique Internationale, (21), 65–78.

Fontana, G. L., & Pellegrino, A. (2015). Esposizioni universali in Europa: Attori, pubblici, memorie tra metropoli e colonie, 1851–1939. Ricerche Storiche, (1–2).

Hardman, F. F. (2005). Trem-fantasma: A ferrovia Madeira-Mamoré e a modernidade na selva. Companhia das Letras.

Guillemoteau, R. (1979). Du Musée pédagogique à l’Institut pédagogique national (1879–1956). CNDP.

Kuhlmann Jr., M. (2001). As grandes festas didáticas: A educação brasileira e as exposições universais (1866–1922). Centro de Documentação e Apoio à Pesquisa em História da Educação.

Lugon, O. (2006). Nouvelle objectivité, nouvelle pédagogie: À propos de Aenne Biermann. 60 photos (1930). Études Photographiques, (9), 29–45.

Lugon, O. (2011). Le style documentaire: D’August Sander à Walker Evans, 1920–1945. Éditions Macula.

Machado, A. (1984). A ilusão especular: Introdução à fotografia. Brasiliense.

Majault, J. (1978). Le Musée pédagogique: Origines et fondation (1872–1879). CNDP.

Matasci, D. (2016). A França, a escola republicana e o exterior: Perspectivas para uma história internacional da educação no século XIX. História da Educação, (50), 139–155.

Mauad, A. M. (2008). Poses e flagrantes. EDUFF.

Meneses, U. T. B. de. (2003). Fontes visuais, cultura visual, história visual: Balanço provisório, propostas cautelares. Revista Brasileira de História, (45), 11–36.

Meneses, U. T. B. de. (2005). Rumo a uma história visual. In J. de S. Martins & C. S. N. Eckert (Dirs.), O imaginário e o poético nas ciências sociais (pp. 33–56). EDUSC.

Musée National de l’Éducation. (1900). L’Exposition de Paris: Publiée avec la collaboration d’écrivains.

Ory, P., & Mei, D. (2018). Les Expositions universelles: Un objet d’histoire “bon à penser”. Relations Internationales, (164), 105–110.

Pesavento, S. J. (1997). Exposições universais: Espetáculos da modernidade do século XIX. Hucitec.

Picard, A. (1903). Exposition universelle internationale de 1900 à Paris: Rapport général administratif et technique. Imprimerie Nationale.

Possamai, Z. R. (2015). A grafia dos corpos no espaço urbano: Os escolares no álbum Biografia duma cidade, Porto Alegre, 1940. História da Educação, 19(47), 129–148. https://www.scielo.br/j/heduc/a/8c5sYHj7y6MZzXyVYp9nC9y/

Possamai, Z. R. (2015). Exhibition, collection, school museum: Preliminary ideas of an imagined museum. Educar em Revista, 31(58), 103–119. https://www.scielo.br/j/er/a/7Jr8ZpZb6jM7nKzP8p9vZ7M/

Possamai, Z. R. (2019). Ferdinand Buisson and the emergence of pedagogical museums: Clues of an international movement in the nineteenth century. Paedagogica Historica, 57(1–2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2019.1652790

Poucet, B. (1996). Les musées d’éducation. Musées & Collections Publiques de France, (206), 12–17.

Rozinoer, C. (2012). Les maisons d’école: Une histoire en cartes postales. CNDP.

Ryckelynck, X. (1989). Les hommes de l’Exposition universelle de 1889: Le cas Alfred Picard. Le Mouvement Social, (149), 25–42.

Schwarcz, L. M. (1993). O espetáculo das raças: Cientistas, instituições e questão racial no Brasil (1870–1930). Companhia das Letras.

Souza, R. F. (2001). Fotografias escolares: A leitura de imagens na história da escola primária. Educar, (18), 75–101.

Tolet, E. (1986). Le cinéma à l’Exposition universelle de 1900. Revue d’Histoire Moderne & Contemporaine, (33), 179–209.

Toulier, B. (1982). L’architecture scolaire au XIXe siècle: De l’usage de modèles pour l’édification des écoles primaires. Histoire de l’Éducation, (17), 17–29.

Turazzi, M. I. (1995). Poses e trejeitos: A fotografia e as exposições na era do espetáculo (1839–1889). Funarte.

Vidal, D. G., & Abdala, R. D. (2005). A fotografia como fonte para a história da educação: Questões teórico-metodológicas e de pesquisa. Educação, (30), 177–194

Published
2026-02-04
How to Cite
Possamai, Z. R. (2026). The Palace of Education and the school to see at the 1900 Paris Exposition . Revista Brasileira De História Da Educação, 26(1), e399. https://doi.org/10.4025/rbhe.v26.2026.e399
Section
Original research

Funding data