Versailles, Fontaine de Point du Jour, (Limier Abattant un Cerf par Houzeau) 1903

Editor: This is Eugène Atget’s “Versailles, Fontaine de Point du Jour”, taken in 1903. It's a silver print, depicting a sculpture of a hunting dog standing over a stag. It’s starkly realistic, but almost… dreamlike. What do you see in it? Curator: Beyond the striking composition, I see a commentary on power. The sculpture itself embodies the aristocratic pursuits of hunting, deeply rooted in land ownership and control. Atget photographs Versailles not as a symbol of royal grandeur in its prime, but as a relic, open to the public – a kind of visual democratisation of a historically exclusive space. What do you make of the specific viewpoint he's chosen? Editor: I guess I hadn’t considered the viewpoint intentionally! He's focused closely on the sculpture, set against the more overgrown landscape, it feels somewhat...staged, almost melancholic? Curator: Precisely! Think about the burgeoning tourist industry at the time. Atget wasn't simply documenting; he was curating a particular experience of Versailles for a new audience. It challenges the established narratives of the place, offering a subtle critique of power and its transformation through social change. Is it now fully democratized? Who is still excluded from the spaces in the picture? Editor: Wow, I never considered the layers of social commentary embedded in what seemed like a simple photograph! It’s interesting how Atget turns this place, so full of symbolism of power and opulence, into an almost common space for new consumers, by changing the established viewpoint of how the upper class were viewing Versailles! Curator: Absolutely! It reveals how even seemingly straightforward images are steeped in historical context and social significance. I never realized how loaded each image truly can be!