Versailles, Bosquet de l'Arc de Triomphe 1904

This is a photograph of Versailles, Bosquet de l'Arc de Triomphe, by Eugène Atget. It's a small, black and white photograph that captures a corner of the grand gardens. I’m always drawn to photographs of statues in gardens. There is an odd dialogue going on. A play with ideas about nature, culture, beauty, and death. A conversation about the living and the non-living. I see Atget setting up his camera, composing the shot, deciding what to include and exclude. The light is soft and diffused, and there is a stillness to the image. The stone bench in the foreground invites you to sit and contemplate the scene. Atget's framing emphasizes the artificiality of the garden, the way nature has been tamed and shaped to fit human ideals. What did Atget think of this artifice? Was he repelled or seduced? This photograph reminds me of other artists who have explored similar themes in their work, like Bernd and Hilla Becher's photographs of industrial structures. It makes you consider how different art forms can influence and speak to each other across time.