June 8th: Eugene Atget

Eugene Atget is famous for his many pictures documenting Paris as it was modernizing at the turn of the 20th century. Perhaps his work is best described by what it did not feature as opposed to what it did; his photographs of Paris omitted any pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Opera House. Atget’s pictures idealized the old Paris and the magical moments that occurred in the streets of Paris. Atget’s photographs have been associated with the surrealist movement by some, but Atget saw his work as documents of Paris rather than pieces of art.

Atget’s photograph Fontaine de l'Observatoire captures the playfulness that can be seen in many of his pictures. This photograph focuses on a sculpture horse and a turtle that are part of the same fountain. The framing of the two subjects in this picture draws attention to the fact that these two sculptures are facing each other and gives the impression that they are interacting. The interaction of people in the streets of is the subject of many of Atget’s photographs, and Fontaine de l'Observatoire broadens this subject to the architecture of the city. Through his documents of Paris, Atget creates a world where the people, sculptures, buildings and history of the city are seen as connected.

This connection between the people of Paris can be observed in the photograph Pendant l'Eclipse. This pictures represents a group of people collectively staring toward the sky, and as the name indicates, watching the eclipse. The photograph also showcases a technique that is common is Atget’s work. He often uses a slower shutter speed, which blurs the motion in a photograph. In Pendant l'Eclipse, the slow shutter speed blurs the faces and bodies of many of the figures. This gives the photograph a ghostly and surrealist quality. This photograph also features the development process of Atget. He chose to develop many of his prints in natural light, which gives them a violet-brown. This tint is what might now be interpreted as sepia, and is associated with ideas of the old-fashioned and historic.