Versailles, Grand Trianon 1905

Curator: Up next we have Eugène Atget’s “Versailles, Grand Trianon,” a silver print photograph from 1905, here on display at The Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: What strikes me most is the opulence captured in such subdued tones. It's almost ghostly. I can practically feel the history radiating off that ornate ironwork, yet it's somehow softened, made intimate. Curator: Absolutely. Atget had a real talent for capturing the texture of a place, the atmosphere. He photographed Paris and its surroundings extensively, often focusing on architectural details and street scenes. His work serves as a powerful record of a rapidly changing urban landscape. And look at how he’s framed the shot. The intricate railing becomes almost a character in itself, doesn't it? It is a photograph of the barriers, of all things! Editor: Exactly! It feels deliberate. You're drawn into the details of the ornamentation, the Fleur-de-lis emblems. Symbols of royalty, but rendered here, after the revolution, with a melancholic detachment. Almost like he's documenting the ghosts of a bygone era. Was it simply about documenting history or was Atget also interested in engaging the viewer with a sense of cultural loss? Curator: Both, I suspect. He wasn't just compiling an archive; he was also highlighting the contradictions of modern Paris—the persistence of the old amidst the new. And think about the materiality of the print itself, the way the silver reacts with the light. The way it fades into dark! Editor: It adds to the sense of passing time, a visual echo of memory. One can imagine this photographer roaming around the park by himself, quietly bearing witness and noticing details that were easy to ignore! Curator: A quiet revolutionary, in his own way. Showing us that even the most seemingly mundane objects can tell extraordinary stories. Editor: Beautifully put. This glimpse feels as resonant as it is ephemeral; that’s something really captivating about its story!