Eugene Atget

French, 1857-1927. Eugene Atget was a well-known photographer popular for his documented photographs of the dwindling elements of late 19th century Paris. Born in Libourne, France the artist studied drama at the Dramatic Arts Conservatory, Paris and worked as an actor in Paris. He later pursued career in commercial photography. The photographer rarely captured pictures of people, apart from the brief time when he photographer city streets. In the 1880s Eugene Atget started photographing models and artists. However, the artist soon started creating photographs of French antiques, architectural structures, and landscapes. Atget termed these pictures as documents that described the French history and culture. His clients included mostly sculptors, stage designers and painters demanding images of the city’s diminishing architecture like hotels, courtyards, gardens. His pictures are notable for the use of wide views and diffuse lighting that offer a sense of ambience and space.

The wistful and blunt styles in his images inspired photographers like Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Berenice Abbott. Hotel de Cosnac, St. Cloud, and Figuier, Nice are a few Eugene Atget artworks available at online auction. Today, photographs by Atget are on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Eugene Atget’s artworks are also for sale at many auction houses.