120 - Eugène ATGET (1857–1927)

Eugène ATGET (1857–1927) A la Grâce de Dieu, 121 rue Montmartre (2nd arrondissement), 1902 Overview of the storefront: a wrought-iron sign featuring a small figure in a rowboat, scrollwork grilles adorned with vine leaves and grape clusters, “Prunelle” and “Suze—Simon aîné” posters in the window; negative number “4460” [?] inscribed in the lower left corner of the image. Silver print 18.2 x 23.3 cm Inscription on the reverse: Pencil annotation: “By the grace of God 121 rue Montmartre - 1902 - BNF” 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. Settling 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 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.