When did eugene atget die
Eugène Atget (–)
Although he studied drama in Paris in the mids and was an itinerant actor for some years thereafter, Eugène Atgets theatrical sensibility found its best outlet in a more deliberate, contemplative, and purely visual art form. In the late s, he began photographing whatever artists needed as models for their work, and by he had established a practice in Paris.
He became obsessed with making what he modestly called documents of the city and its environs, and compiling a visual compendium of the architecture, landscape, and artifacts that distinguish French culture and its history. Except for a brief attempt to capture life in the streets early in his career, Atget rarely photographed people, preferring the streets themselves as well as the gardens, courtyards, and other areas that constituted the cultural stage.
By the end of his life, Atget had amassed an archive of over 8, negatives, which he organized into such categories as Parisian Interiors, Vehicles in Paris, and Petits Métiers (trades and professions).
Eugene atget photographer biography His ports are not well known, however Africa and Uruguay have been named several times. Atget and the concept of a work of art [ edit ]. The optical vignetting often seen at some corners of his photographs is due to his having repositioned the lens relative to the plate on the camera—exploiting one of the features of bellows view cameras as a way to correct perspective and control perspective and keep vertical forms straight. His photographs documented the industrial boom, new constructions, and everyday life.While his principle clientele would change, Atget continued to frequent artists ateliers and cafés until the end of his life, selling his pictures to those most able to see their intrinsic worth.
In the s, Atget was heralded by Man Ray and the Surrealists for his photographs of window displays that melded reflections of the street with artifacts for sale, and for his pictures of places that seemed like so many theatrical stages pregnant with imminent action.
His keen observations of the moments when todays traffic intersects societys immemorial concerns demonstrated far beyond Surrealist circles how photography could succinctly and evocatively describe cultural values as pervasive and almost as invisible as air.
Citation
Department of Photographs. Eugène Atget (–). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, –. (October )
Further Reading
Szarkowski, John, and Maria Morris Hambourg.
Eugene atget photographer biography wikipedia Hameau de la reine , Versailles, He was self-taught and only purchased the bare necessities. Koetzle, Hans-Michel. Later years and creative heritage [ edit ].The Work of Atget. 4 vols. New York: Museum of Modern Art, –