71 - Eugène ATGET (1857–1927)

Eugène ATGET (1857–1927) Cabaret, 10 rue du Four, demolished in 1905 Storefront of a wine merchant (“Comce de vins”) enclosed by wrought-iron grilles featuring scrollwork and medallions; the door opens onto a checkered floor; the artist’s signature in letters—“Jadoul, r. de l’Abbé-Grégoire”—appears on the sign. Later print from the National Library. Silver print 23.9 x 19 cm Inscription on the reverse: Annotation in blue ink: “Cabaret on Rue du Four (Demolished in 1905)”; in pencil: “BNF 10 rue du Four (18th arrondissement) T42451” Provenance: former Jean-Marie Drot collection Born in Libourne in 1857, Eugène Atget worked as a sailor and then as an actor before devoting himself to photography around 1890. Based on Rue Campagne-Première, he produced “documents for artists” and spent nearly forty years photographing old Paris: streets, courtyards, storefronts, signs, small trades, parks, and interiors. His thousands of photographs were acquired by the National Library, the Carnavalet Museum, and the Historic Monuments department, which saw them as a record of a city in the process of disappearing. Man Ray and the Surrealists, followed by Berenice Abbott—who saved a large portion of his collection—revealed the poetic dimension of his work. He died in Paris in 1927 and is considered one of the fathers of modern documentary photography.