Versailles, Vase 1905

Here is the audio guide script: This is a photograph of a vase in Versailles by Eugène Atget, made sometime in the early 20th century. It’s all in muted shades, and the light gives it a kind of ghostly feel. I’m thinking about Atget, wandering around Versailles with his camera, probably a large format thing, and all the time it took to set up each shot. He’s not just snapping away; it's a whole ritual, a dance between him and this super ornate vase, loaded with faces and leaves. The vase has seen some things, right? It's got this heavy, weathered texture, like it’s absorbed centuries of gossip and secrets. And the plants sticking out on the top are like wild hair. The whole scene makes you wonder about impermanence and change, about how even the fanciest things eventually get a little rough around the edges. I love that. It’s like a painting, but captured with light and time. Artists are always talking to each other across time and space, riffing on the same themes, like echoes in a big, beautiful hall.