Interieur d'un employé aux magasins du Louvre 1910

This is Eugène Atget’s photograph, Interior of an Employee in the Louvre Department Stores, made at the turn of the century with a large format camera. Atget’s approach to photography involved a deep engagement with his subject, and a keen awareness of the printing process. There is a stillness here, a quiet absorption in the arrangement of objects. The sepia tone renders this image with warmth, even intimacy. Look at the reflection in the mirror, or the lamps with their delicate globes. The surface of the photograph is matte. You can sense the texture of the paper, its grain almost like a painting. This piece reminds me of the painter Vilhelm Hammershøi, with the soft, greyed out tonal range, and the domestic subject matter. Both artists share an interest in capturing the quiet poetry of the everyday. Ultimately, Atget's photograph embraces ambiguity, inviting us to linger in the space between seeing and feeling.