Versailles, Vase 1906

Editor: This is Eugène Atget's photograph, "Versailles, Vase," taken in 1906. It’s a close-up of a classical stone vase in the Versailles gardens, almost dreamlike with its soft focus. What strikes me most is the way it elevates an everyday garden ornament to something monumental. How do you interpret this work, considering the history it captures? Curator: Atget was really documenting a disappearing world, wasn’t he? He aimed his camera at aspects of French culture on the verge of transformation. Versailles, as a site of royal power, was becoming a public park and tourist destination. How does this photograph of the vase participate in this shift? Editor: I guess it's presenting an emblem of aristocratic culture in a way that’s accessible, even commonplace. It's less about the grand statement of the palace and more about the individual, decorative elements. Does this suggest a democratization of the image? Curator: Precisely! Atget, in a sense, dismantles the aura of the aristocracy, reframing it for the burgeoning middle class. His images often appeared in albums or as postcards. They catered to the popular desire to experience Versailles, or to collect an impression of its grandeur. So it’s a complicated dance, this democratization. What do you make of that? Editor: That’s interesting, making art accessible to a broader public also somewhat transforms it in an act of consumption and display for others to judge, in effect somewhat transforming the artistic piece itself? It reframes Versailles, almost packaging the royal past for contemporary consumption. Curator: Precisely! And it also demonstrates the public's changing relationship with their socio-political history. The medium becomes both a vehicle for accessing the past, but also, you suggest, changes its purpose and meaning? Editor: Definitely something to keep in mind as we continue through the exhibit! Curator: Agreed! This image truly brings the palace into perspective.