Saint Cloud 

This photograph, Saint Cloud, was made in France by Eugène Atget using a large format camera. Atget’s choice of equipment, the large format camera, encouraged a slower, more deliberate way of working. This photographic process involved coating a glass plate with a light-sensitive emulsion. The image was then captured by exposing the plate to light, and the photograph developed using chemical processes. The resulting glass plate negative was then used to make prints. Atget aimed to document Paris and its surroundings, capturing details of a rapidly changing urban environment. Saint Cloud is a reminder of the labor that went into maintaining the opulent grounds of the Parisian elite. The image is a material artifact of a specific time and place, reflecting social and economic conditions. By focusing on the materials, the making, and the context, we get a richer understanding of the photograph and its place in history.