Paris. Le Boulevard Montmartre c. 1900 - 1904

Here is the audio guide script: Charles Reutlinger made this photograph, "Paris. Le Boulevard Montmartre", at an unknown date using a photographic process. The buildings and trees that line the boulevard have a hazy, almost dreamlike quality, with just a touch of colour added later. It gives you a sense of bustling life while also retaining a ghostly timelessness. What strikes me most is the texture, or maybe its the feeling of texture. The surface isn't smooth; it’s got that granular, slightly rough feel that old photographs often have. Look closely at the figures walking along the boulevard. Each one is so small, yet they add to the sense of movement and rhythm, drawing you into the scene. This photograph reminds me of the work of Eugène Atget, another photographer who captured everyday life in Paris around the same time. Like Atget, Reutlinger seems interested in documenting the changing face of the city, capturing a moment in time that would soon disappear. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation with what came before, and what is yet to come.