Open full image Pin

Statue of The "Rhone", Versailles, France

Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget

1900

photographic

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Early Modern

Dominant colour

Statue of The "Rhone", Versailles, France is a 1900 photographic by Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget
When & what style?: 1900
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This black and white photo shows a statue in Versailles, France from around 1900. It’s by Atget, who photographed old Paris as it disappeared. He sold prints to museums, including the Victoria and Albert. He started late, after years as a sailor and actor. His pictures feel like quiet stage sets. He focused on worn streets, not new buildings. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum next.

The story of this work

Overview

An albumen print mounted on green card, the photograph titled *The "Rhone"* is part of Eugène Atget’s series documenting Old Paris and its surroundings. Taken in 1900, the image reflects Atget’s methodical approach to recording the city’s fading architectural and urban details before modernization erased them. Later recognized for its surreal qualities, the photograph was initially valued as a factual record before gaining broader artistic appreciation. The work was later associated with Surrealist circles after Man Ray and his contemporaries sought to use Atget’s images for their…

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget

Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget spent the early 1900s photographing Versailles when tourists were scarce, turning empty courtyards and statues into quiet studies of light and weather.

See the richer artist page