Petit Luxembourg. Oratoire Marie de Médicis
Eugène Atget
French, 1857–1927
1903
A quiet albumen silver print by Eugène Atget that documents the ornate oratory of Marie de Médicis in the Petit Luxembourg, made as a careful, archival study of Paris’s historic interiors.
At first glance the room’s hush and soft, even light arrest you—the carved oval medallions, gilded frames and faded panel painting sink into muted tonalities while the closed doors and shadowed corners give the space a suspended, timeless feeling.
Part of Atget’s project to record a changing Paris, this precise, documentary photograph helped establish photography as a tool for preservation and influenced generations of modern artists and historians.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Approx. 6 1/2 × 8 1/2" (16.5 × 21.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Abbott-Levy Collection. Acquired through the generosity of Shirley C. Burden, and Family of Man Fund
Accession
1.1969.1891
Palette
Exhibitions
