Pavilhão da Itália na Exposição Universal de Paris de 1900

The Italian Pavilion at the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition was one of the many national structures built for the greatest international exhibition of the Belle Époque, held on the Champ-de-Mars and along the Seine. Visconti was in Paris at this time and documented the exposition as a witness to the event that marked the culmination of 19th-century internationalism. The Italian Pavilion's presence reminded him of his own Italian origins — he had been born in Salerno — and his depiction of it carries a personal dimension beyond mere reportage. As subject matter, the exposition attracted several Post-Impressionist painters who saw in its temporary architecture a vivid and transient scene.

The pavilion's architectural forms are rendered with the broken, atmospheric touch Visconti was developing under Parisian influence, rather than the crisp architectural precision of earlier exposition documentation. Natural light on the building's surfaces is the real subject, with architectural detail subordinated to the painting of light and air.