id: 162340 accession number: 2002.69 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2002.69 updated: 2023-03-15 15:46:45.116000 Nymphéa, 1922–23. Eugène Atget (French, 1857–1927). Albumen print, gold-toned; image: 22.2 x 17.6 cm (8 3/4 x 6 15/16 in.); matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2002.69 title: Nymphéa title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1922–23 creation date earliest: 1922 creation date latest: 1923 current location: creditline: The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund copyright: --- culture: France, 20th century technique: albumen print, gold-toned department: Photography collection: PH - French 20th Century type: Photograph find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Eugène Atget (French, 1857–1927) - artist Eugène Atget French, 1857-1927 Relatively unknown to the public during his lifetime, Eugène Atget is today an icon -- one of the most celebrated and influential photographers of the 20th century. Born near Bordeaux, Atget first directed his efforts to painting and the stage before turning to photography shortly before 1890. He is best known for his documentary scenes of Paris and Versailles, but he photographed a number of other sites as well. Atget viewed his work as a historical and aesthetic record, regarding it as documentation for use by artists. Indeed, several artists are known to have painted from his images. Using relatively unsophisticated, even outdated equipment, Atget achieved a view of French architecture and culture that is both personal and factual. Along with the rediscovery of the images of Mathew Brady in the early 20th century, the recognition of Atget's artistic accomplishments shortly before his death by Berenice Abbott, Man Ray, and others helped turn photographers away from the mannered style of pictorialism toward the visual and technical clarity of modernism. Marked by a selective and highly individual method, his is among the most widely shown, published, and recognized work in photography today. T.W.F. --- measurements: Image: 22.2 x 17.6 cm (8 3/4 x 6 15/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: written in pencil on verso: "Nymphea"; "MOMA/DUPE/2002"? "(initials)?" translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2005-02-26T00:00:00 Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 26-June 16, 2005). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 26 - June 16, 2005 . "Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art". --- PROVENANCE David Tunick, New York, NY date: footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: September 3, 2002 footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: A prolific Parisian artist who enjoyed a three-decade career, Atget was one of the most important and original photographers active at the beginning of the 20th century. This sparkling landscape of a mass of white water lily blossoms (Nymphéa) is among Atget's best compositions, created in the 1920s, when he was at the height of his artistic prowess. This scene, full of luxurious botany, was probably taken in Bagatelle Park at the edge of Paris's Bois de Boulogne. He carefully focused on the floating plants and their sculptured flowers, detailing texture and shape. The early morning illumination created light and shadow patterns that enabled Atget to isolate flat, abstracted forms while simultaneously depicting a deep pictorial space. In this lush, purplish print, the lily pond shimmers with reflected shadows and brilliant highlights. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.69/2002.69_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.69/2002.69_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.69/2002.69_full.tif