Eugene Atget

Eugene Atget
By Eugene Struthers

Early Life and Career

Eugene Atget was born in Libourne, near Bordeaux in France, in 1857. At the age of seven, he was orphaned and raised by his uncle. After finishing his education in the 1870s, he worked as a sailor and then as a cabin boy on liners in the Transatlantic passage.

He had a variety of professions. One of his passions was acting. Although he took this very seriously, he never achieved any success on stage. At the age of forty, he quit acting and experimented for a while with painting. By the mid-1890s, Atget settled in Paris and took up photography. He used photography as a source of making a living, selling his photographs to artists in the nearby town of Montparnasse. Atget advertised his photographs as "documents for artists," photographing models which were used by artists.

Photography Career

Atget received no formal training or schooling in photography. He had a natural talent for capturing a visual representation of his environment and society and of French culture. His images were pure and intense, unabated by what they stood for and represented. He retained a Bohemian affection for the working class and worried about the petty tradesmen and merchants threatened by modernization and the rise of big Paris department stores.

He was not progressive but worked patiently with techniques that were obsolescent when he adopted them, and very nearly anachronistic. Over a period of twenty years, Atget produced, through photography, a systematic visual catalogue of Paris. He photographed its people, their culture, lives, the city streets, buildings, and parks.

Methodology and Techniques

To understand and increase his knowledge base of what he was capturing about his subject, Atget became an amateur urban and architectural historian. He followed the tradition of earlier French photographers like Charles Marville and Henri Le Secq. Atget used his camera to create images that preserved the city of Paris's historical past. His visual acumen not only served the purpose of documentation, but also of striking compositions that were characteristic of his work.

Atget's work is unique on two levels. Firstly, he was a great photographer and created a spectacular visual catalogue of the fruits of French culture. Atget was, in addition, a photographer of such authority and originality that his work remains a benchmark against which much of the most sophisticated contemporary photography measures itself today. Most photographers had been concerned with describing specific facts (documentation) or with exploiting their self-expression. Atget's work encompassed and transcended both approaches for each task he set himself. Through his images, he went about understanding and interpreting in visual terms the natural architecture and culture of French society and its ancient traditions.

Equipment and Style

Atget photographed Paris with a large-format wooden bellows camera with a rapid rectilinear lens. The images were developed and exposed as 18x24cm (7 x 9.4 inches) glass dry plates. Characteristics of Atget's photography included a wispy, drawn-out sense of light due to a long exposure and an intentionally limited range of scenes involving people or the bustling mayhem of modern Paris. The blurred figures of people and the emptiness of the streets were partly due to his antiquated technique of long, extended exposure times.

Independence and Influence

Atget's commercial independence as a photographer allowed him greater visual freedom. His documentation projects were done on his own. He was commissioned or contracted by the city bureaus and the Carnavalet Museum to preserve and record landmarks in Paris. In Atget's day, Paris was already a modern metropolis, but this was not the Paris he photographed. Atget worked early in the morning to avoid the traffic and people, using the early morning light to capture the ethereal city. He gave his images a mythical dimension with their soft light and edges. There are hardly any people in his pictures, no Eiffel Tower, no modern industry. Atget showcased a more refined and delicate Paris. One that lies beneath or under the modern, bustling metropolis. A few of the places he photographed still exist today. But when re-photographed as has been done by Christopher Rauschenberg, they appear more hard-edged, higher in detail, and depict the streets as mean and harsh.

Legacy and Recognition

Atget's photographs attracted the attention of well-known painters such as Man Ray, Andre Derain, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso in the 1920s. American photographer Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) provided the key that unlocked Atget's Paris for the rest of the world. She got to know him in the 1920s when she was an assistant to Atget's Montparnasse neighbor, Man Ray. By 1899, he had moved to Montparnasse, where he lived and earned a modest income until he died in 1927.

After Atget's death, Abbott arranged for New York's Museum of Modern Art to buy many of his prints, and Atget soon became better known in the U.S. than in France. Today, Atget's work is celebrated for its unique perspective and enduring impact on the field of photography, capturing the essence of Paris in a way that continues to inspire and influence artists and photographers worldwide.

Conclusion

Eugène Atget's journey from an orphaned child in Libourne to a pioneering photographer in Paris is a remarkable testament to his resilience and vision. With no formal training, Atget developed a profound and natural talent for photography, capturing the essence of Parisian life with a meticulous and unique approach. His dedication to documenting the city’s historical architecture, streets, and people created an unparalleled visual archive that remains a vital cultural and artistic resource.

Atget's work, marked by its purity, intensity, and historical sensitivity, transcended mere documentation. His ability to blend artistic composition with a deep understanding of his subjects established him as a significant figure in the world of photography. Despite working with outdated techniques, Atget’s images possess a timeless quality that continues to inspire and influence contemporary photographers.

The posthumous recognition of Atget’s work, largely facilitated by Berenice Abbott, ensured that his contributions would not be forgotten. Today, his photographs are celebrated for their unique perspective and enduring impact, capturing the soul of a Paris that existed beneath the surface of modernization and change.

The extensive bibliography, further readings, and documentaries listed provide valuable resources for those interested in exploring Atget's life and work in greater depth. Through these, we gain a deeper appreciation of Atget’s artistry and his significant role in the evolution of photography. His legacy endures, reminding us of the power of photography to preserve and illuminate the past, while continually inspiring future generations.

Bibliography

- Abbott, Berenice. "Eugène Atget: Photographer of Paris." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1964.
- Borcoman, James. "Eugène Atget, 1857-1927." Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1982.
- Hambourg, Maria Morris. "Eugène Atget." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2000.
- Nesbit, Molly. "Atget's Seven Albums." New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
- Szarkowski, John, and Maria Morris Hambourg. "The Work of Atget: The Ancient Regime." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1981.

Eugene Atget By Eugene Struthers

Eugene Atget
By Eugene Struthers