Versailles, Bosquet de l' Arc de Triomphe 1904

This is Eugène Atget’s photograph, taken at Versailles of the Bosquet de l' Arc de Triomphe. Atget seems to be working with a limited tonal range, a kind of monochrome, that gives the whole image an impression of having been dipped in sepia ink. And look at all the detail! You can really get lost in the textures he's captured. Notice the rough bark of the trees in the background, which contrasts so strongly with the smoothness of the stone sculptures. The soft focus brings a dreamlike quality to the scene, the way light gently falls across the figures creating a sense of depth. But it's the contrasts that I keep coming back to. The sharp lines of the figures against the soft, blurred background. The solid stillness of the sculptures versus the implied movement of the trees, like a dance. You know, this reminds me a little of what the Bechers were doing later on with their typologies. Like them, Atget finds an aesthetic in seriality, in the subtle differences between similar objects. Photography, like any art form, is an ongoing conversation, and Atget's work feels like an important part of that dialogue.