Étang de Corot, Ville-d'Avray (Corot's Pond, Ville-d'Avray) 1900 - 1910

This gelatin silver print, "Étang de Corot, Ville-d'Avray," was captured by Eugène Atget. Look how the light falls, soft and even. It's as if Atget is feeling his way through the scene. The beauty here is in the texture: the way the light reflects off the water, the roughness of the tree bark, the hazy background, the way the gelatin silver renders everything in a range of grey tones. You can almost feel the dampness of the air, the stillness of the pond. Notice how the boat sits there, so solid and still. Then look up at the branches of the trees, reaching out like fingers towards the sky. It's like the boat is grounded, while the trees are striving for something more. Atget reminds me a bit of Gustave Caillebotte, with his eye for detail and composition. But where Caillebotte is precise and polished, Atget is more raw and intuitive. Both artists remind us that art is not about perfection, but about capturing a moment in time, with all its imperfections and ambiguities.