![The Park at Sceaux [April 1925, 7a.m.]](https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.68/2002.68_web.jpg)
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00013004The Park at Sceaux [April 1925, 7a.m.]
About the Artwork
After the turn of the 20th century, Atget began to photograph many of the magnificent châteaux and parks surrounding Paris. This photograph is from a series taken of the abandoned estate and garden at Sceaux in 1925 and is considered his rarest and finest. It records that fleeting moment when a tree's sculptural form and the beginning stubble of its spring foliage are both visible. Shooting directly into early morning light, Atget captured the stately trees casting long, shimmering reflections on the placid pond surface. By visually compressing the background with the foreground, he created the illusion that this scene took place on a single plane. The use of arrowroot paper, characterized by a velvety texture and cool gray tonal range, enhances the print's atmospheric quality. This picture acknowledges Atget's unmatched ability to combine descriptive information and expression subtly, thereby creating mysterious images of breathtaking beauty.
Inscriptions
written in pencil on verso: "Parc de Sceaux"; "(possible initials)"?
Provenance
David Tunick, New York, NY September 3, 2002: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 26-June 16, 2005).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Eugène Atget (French, 1857–1927)
- Date
- 1925
- Medium
- arrowroot print, gold-toned
- Dimensions
- Image: 22.9 x 17.6 cm (9 x 6 15/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Accession no.
- 2002.68
More by Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00013004
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