EUGÈNE ATGET

Eugène Atget (1857‑1927) was a French photographer noted for his documentary photographs of old Paris.

Born in the French city of Libourne, he is orphaned at seven and was raised by his grand-parents. In the 1870s, after finishing his education, Atget briefly became a sailor and cabin boy on liners in the Transatlantic. After shipping on several voyages, Atget became an actor, more specifically, a bit player, for a second-rate repertory company, but without much success. He finally settled in Paris, as a painter-turned-photographer in the 1890s. Despite Atget's limited background in the visual arts, he saw photography as a source of income, selling his photographs to artists in the nearby town of Montparnasse. He advertised his photographs as "documents for artists." It was common practice at the time for painters to ...
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