Grand Trianon -- Vase en Plomb par le Lorrain
Eugène Atget
French, 1857–1927
1901
A matte albumen silver print by Eugène Atget that quietly records a carved lead urn at the Grand Trianon, made to document and preserve the small architectural ornaments of France’s built heritage.
The eye is grabbed by the monumental urn sharply placed in the right foreground, its ornate silhouette set against a mirror-like pool and a dark, leafy background that together create a hushed, deep perspective.
Part of Atget’s systematic photographic inventory of Parisian sites, this image helped define documentary photography’s attention to overlooked details and later influenced modernist and Surrealist artists who found meaning in the ordinary cityscape.
Medium
Matte 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
1.1969.212
Palette
Exhibitions
