Versailles, 3 rue Carnot
Eugène Atget
French, 1857–1927
1921
An albumen silver print photograph in which Eugène Atget quietly records the plain three-story façade at 3 rue Carnot, part of his meticulous project to document everyday architecture and vanishing urban detail.
What strikes you is the restrained symmetry and stillness—the shuttered windows, iron balcony, two classical statues in shallow niches and the textured cobbles foregrounded by a soft range of grays that makes the scene feel both ordinary and slightly uncanny.
Atget’s methodical images helped establish photography as a tool of archival preservation and urban study, influencing modern documentary practice and the way artists and historians value ordinary streetscapes.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Approx. 7 × 8 7/8" (17.8 × 22.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Abbott-Levy Collection. Acquired through the generosity of Shirley C. Burden, and Family of Man Fund
Accession
1.1969.134
Palette
Exhibitions
