Versailles, Bassin de Neptune 1902

Curator: This photograph by Eugène Atget, titled "Versailles, Bassin de Neptune," was taken in 1902. It's a silver print, now residing here at The Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: Immediately, the serenity strikes me. The reflections on the water's surface are so still, almost ghostly. The urn in the foreground feels like a relic, imbued with the weight of history and privilege. Curator: Indeed. Atget’s images offer a critical gaze into French society through its architecture. Here, Versailles is not just a pretty backdrop, but a symbol of power, wealth, and the social stratification that defined the era. He captured a France grappling with its imperial past. Editor: Precisely, I was also reflecting on who that access and privilege wasn't afforded to. The composition places the viewer outside the gates, almost. What are we to make of this stage and who populates it now? Curator: Atget was part of a Realist movement. We need to look at what that entails for photography at that moment. He sold these prints as documents. He did a service for the city of Paris by recording how it was, what life it had, because he foresaw change. That also extends to sites like Versailles and its reflection of the aristocratic power. Editor: His gaze seems objective, but you sense an awareness, a commentary perhaps? We have a clear focus on an antiquity. It is being displayed and documented like an object. One has to wonder about it's symbolism, and if that same fountain is still as stunning to the working class citizen. Does the structure represent the old French empire with all it's flaws? Curator: And don't forget, these weren't considered art objects at the time. His project became valuable and relevant as a tool. It now provides a framework for examining the structures and institutions that support it, its political implications on society. Editor: Atget invites us to question those power dynamics inherent to representations of grandeur, as the empire faded, we were all allowed a small snapshot in this photograph. What do we want to inherit from these statues?