Versailles, Enlèvement de Proserpine par Pluton par Girardon, (detail) 1904

Here's a photograph by Eugène Atget, taken at Versailles of Girardon’s sculpture "The Abduction of Proserpina by Pluto" - I am not sure exactly when it was made, but the image is dominated by these ghostly, sepia tones. I imagine Atget, circling this sculpture. What was he thinking, seeing this in real life? Did he see it as a dramatic swirl of figures? Or was he more interested in the details, the way the light hit the stone? There are these torch-bearing figures, almost like stagehands, ushering the drama along, but the main event is the abduction itself. The lines of the sculpture communicate so much feeling and intention, from the panic in Proserpina’s face to the determined aggression of Pluto. Atget’s photograph isn't just a record; it's an interpretation. It makes me think about other artists, about Rodin's sculptures, about how everyone is in an ongoing conversation. His image invites us to look closer and consider how the stories we tell are constantly being retold, re-imaged, and re-experienced through art.