76 - Eugène ATGET (1857–1927)

Eugène ATGET (1857–1927) Le Cabaret Alexandre, 100 Boulevard de Clichy (18th arrondissement), 1910–1912 Spectacular facade of the “Brûlant Alexandre”: banners reading “Le Cabaret Alexandre,” a backdrop of rocks and papier-mâché figures, an awning, a streetlamp, and a bicycle on the sidewalk; the National Library’s stamp is visible in the image. Silver print 24 x 18.5 cm Inscription on the reverse: Annotation in blue ink: “Cabaret Alexandre Bd de Clichy 100”; in pencil: “(9th arr.) 1910–1912 BNF,” “p. 734” Provenance: former collection of Jean-Marie Drot Bibliography: *Atget Paris*, introduction by Laure Beaumont-Maillet, Paris, Hazan, 1992, reproduced on p. 734. Born in Libourne in 1857, Eugène Atget worked as a sailor and then as an actor before devoting himself to photography around 1890. Settling on Rue Campagne-Première, he produced “reference material 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 Monuments Historiques, which saw them as an inventory 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.