150 - Eugène ATGET (1857–1927)

Eugène ATGET (1857–1927) Place Saint-Sulpice, Morris column (6th arrondissement), circa 1910 Morris column covered with show posters (Folies-Bergère, Casino, “La Petite Peste,” “Le Duel,” “Passe-partout,” “Chantecler,” “Lamoureux Concerts—reopening Sunday, October 16,” “Comme ils sont tous”), shadows of the plane trees on the sidewalk; in the background, the Saint-Sulpice fountain and a few passersby. Silver print 23.8 x 18.2 cm A few surface losses on the upper edge Inscription on the reverse: Annotation in ink: “Place St. Sulpice Morris column for shows. "; in pencil: layout frame and small framing sketch, markings “1)”, “2)”, “3)”, “4)” 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 “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.