Untitled
Eugène Atget
French, 1857–1927
1899-1900
An albumen silver print photograph by Eugène Atget that quietly records a late‑19th‑century Paris street moment—a seated workman touching a draft horse—part of his systematic effort to document the city's everyday scenes before they vanished.
What strikes you is the intimate, almost tender exchange between man and horse set against the hard geometry of the curb and cobblestones, with the horse’s dappled coat and leather harness rendered in rich tonal detail while a small, blurred figure watches from the background.
Atget’s sober, documentary images preserved the vanished vernacular of Paris and helped establish photography as a tool for archival observation and artistic exploration, influencing later documentary and surrealist photographers.
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
1.1969.981
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
