Visuality of a treaty: reflection on Versailles

Abstract

This article revisits one moment in international law through the prism of visual culture, analysing paintings, photographs and political cartoons of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. It considers the historical representation of treaty-making, narratives of international law as beneficent universal regulator and spectacle, and the projection of ‘successful’ international law through image. It reflects on photographs that capture working, ‘behind-the-scenes’ moments and portrayals of a more agitated, restless visual international law. And it explores the idea that visuality contributes to the construction of international legal reality and is a specific site of meaning for our understanding of treaty-making at Versailles.