Versailles, Grand Trianon 1901

This is a photograph of the Grand Trianon in Versailles, created by Eugène Atget. Just looking at the sepia tones, you know, you can sense the passage of time that Atget so gracefully captures. There’s something about the surface quality of old photographs, the way the image is layered on the paper, that creates such a strong sense of depth and texture. The way the light catches the details of the urn, the delicate figures on top, you can almost feel the weight and the age of the stone. And then there's this incredible contrast between the solid, sculpted form of the urn and the soft, hazy backdrop of the gardens. Think about Man Ray's photograms. Atget’s work shares that same interest in pushing the medium, in exploring how photography can be both representational and abstract, concrete and ephemeral. It’s this ambiguity, this openness to multiple interpretations, that makes it so compelling.