Whenever I recall the delightful façade of the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes, I wonder whether mankind will ever invent anything so aesthetically flawless and inspired as the Art Deco tradition.

The building, which now houses a tropical aquarium and a museum of the history of immigration, was originally created as an exhibition space for the six-month Colonial Exhibition held in Paris in 1931. The entire façade of the Palace of the Golden Gate is covered with bas-reliefs depicting the riches of the French colonies. Today the colonial message sounds unethical, but the idea of capturing on a canvas of stone such great beauty and such diversity of the world is impressive.

Alfred Auguste Janniot makes masterly use of the propaganda ideas of the 1930s, applied with such success in the Soviet Union and in Germany alike. Look at these handsome, muscular people, the lush nature, the vivid ethnic features and ethnographic details! In essence, this façade is a vast catalogue of the cultures, lands, animals and plants of Africa, Asia, Oceania and America.