Atget

Eugène Atget (1857–1927) was a French photographer whose work documents the urban landscape of Paris at the turn of the 20th century. Known for his extensive series of images of streets, shops, and architectural details, Atget’s photographs present a historical record of a city in transition.

Born in Libourne, Atget moved to Paris and began photography later in life. He produced images for artists and for the historical record, selling prints or negatives to painters, printmakers, and patrons who used them as references for their own work. He rarely staged scenes and preferred to capture the city as it appeared.

Atget worked with a large-format camera on a tripod, relying on natural light and long exposures. His subjects range from grand façades to intimate courtyards, alleyways, storefronts, and street life. He cataloged his work by district and by subject, building an archive intended as a practical, documentary resource rather than a collection of personal expression.

After his death, Atget’s photographs gained wider recognition. Artists such as Man Ray and other Surrealists admired his images for their quiet, dreamlike quality, and American photographer Berenice Abbott helped introduce his work to a broader audience in the 1930s. Today his photographs are held by major museums and libraries and are considered foundational to the practice of documentary street photography and to the recording of urban change.