Square Monge in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, photographed by Eugène Atget around 1900, is documented here in a large-format albumen print. Atget began photographing Old Paris in 1898, working to create "documents," as he called his photographs, of architecture and urban views. He carried a large-format view camera through the streets and gardens of Paris, usually photographing around dawn, and the quiet, unpeopled atmosphere of this image is characteristic of his working method.

The composition follows a curving gravel path receding into a canopy of bare, late-season trees, with fallen leaves scattered across the ground. Iron-slatted park benches line the path, and a single seated figure is visible in the middle distance. Dominating the right side of the frame is a tall stone retaining wall densely covered in ivy, into which a pair of arched Renaissance-style niches has been set, each sheltering a standing stone figure. A framed notice or placard is mounted to the wall beside the niches.

The statues set within the niches are identified as those of Jean Aubry and President de Viole, salvaged from the old Hôtel de Ville destroyed by fire in 1871. The Renaissance niches themselves also originated from the old Hôtel de Ville burned during the Commune of 1871 and were rehoused at Square Monge with modern statuary. Atget photographed this site on at least two documented occasions, and prints from the series are held by the Musée Carnavalet in Paris.