Coin rue de Seine

Eugène Atget made a number of prints from the negative of this spiky angular building; this example was exposed for longer than the others during the printing process, yielding a darker composition. As a result, the picture gives the dramatic impression that it was made during that indistinct period of early morning when the sun is rising and night is fading away. Other prints of this image are lighter and, consequently, less striking. To accommodate the tall structure within the parameters of his lens, Atget was forced to position his camera at a considerable distance from the building, filling the foreground with an expansive fork in the road.