Versailles, Vase par Ballin 1905

This photograph of a vase at Versailles was taken by Eugène Atget, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at how the light renders the stone surface of the vase so tactile, how the texture almost becomes the subject of the image. There's a real tenderness in how Atget captured this object. The scrolled handles curve, inviting touch, yet the vase itself is still and silent, its patterned surface demanding closer inspection. You can see the grid of diamond shapes near the top, like a net, and the frieze of laurel leaves, each tiny form caught in stark detail. The muted tones and the slightly soft focus give the photograph a dreamy, timeless quality. It reminds me a little of the sculptural photographs by Karl Blossfeldt, who was making images of botanical specimens around the same time. Both artists invite us to really *see* the world around us, and to find something exceptional in the everyday.