I am presenting an academic paper Traversing the unknown at the international conference Travel Ideals: Engaging with spaces of mobility this Wednesday afternoon at the University of Melbourne. Come along if you can!
Dr Marcus Bunyan, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne.
Curator: Françoise Reynaud, Chief Curator in charge of photographic collections at the Carnavalet Museum, alongside consulting commissioner David Harris
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Heurtoir à tête de lion, hôtel de la Monnaie, quai Conti, 6e arrondissement
(Lion head knocker, Hotel Monnaie, Quai Conti, 6th District)
September 1900
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet/ Roger-Viollet
More photographs from the master, including some of the less well known figurative work.
The exhibition has been rating its socks off, with long queues and people being stopped from entering until the crowds inside have dissipated, so that people can actually see the small prints.
Being a Leo the image of the lion’s head (Heurtoir à tête de lion, 1900, above) is my favourite in the posting, which is why it’s at the top.
Owning an Atget. It has a nice ring to it. Just imagine owning this Atget. I would be in a spin for days!
Dr Marcus Bunyan
Many thankx to the Carnavalet Museum for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Chevet de l’église Saint-Séverin, rue Saint-Jacques, 5ème arrondissement, Paris
1908
Albumen paper print
Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris
CC0 Paris Mus̩es / Mus̩e Carnavalet РHistoire de Paris
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
La Conciergerie et la Seine, brouillard en hiver, 1er arrondissement
(The Conciergerie and the Seine, fog in winter, 1st district)
1923
Print on matte albumen paper
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Coin de la rue Valette et Pantheon, 5e arrondissement, matinee de mars
1925
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Le Dôme, boulevard Montparnasse
June 1925
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Rue Hautefeuille, 6e arrondissement
1898
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Fontaine de l’Observatoire, par le sculpteur Carpeaux, jardin Marco-Polo, vue prise vers le jardin du Luxembourg, 6e arrondissement
(Fountain of the Observatory, by the sculptor Carpeaux, Marco Polo Garden, view towards the Luxembourg gardens, the sixth borough)
1902
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Cabaret au Tambour, 62 quai de la Tournelle, 5th arrodissement
1908
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
In spring 2012, the Carnavalet Museum presents the Parisian work of one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century, Eugène Atget (Libourne, 1857 – Paris, 1927). The exhibition proposes a selection of 230 prints created in Paris between 1898 and 1927 from the collections of the Carnavalet Museum, in addition to those of the George Eastman House in Rochester and the collections of the Fundación Mapfre in Madrid.
This retrospective, which brings together some well-known images and others previously unseen, paints an unusual portrait of the capital, far from the clichés of the Belle Époque. Visitors will discover the streets of the Paris of old, the gardens, the quays of the Seine, the former boutiques and the travelling salesmen. Atget’s photographs also reveal the changes in his processes: when he started out, this self-taught photographer tried to bring together landscapes and motifs and then images of Paris streets, in order to sell them to artists as models. It was when he dedicated himself to the streets of Paris that he attracted the attention of prestigious institutions such as the Carnavalet Museum and the National Library, which were to become his main clients until the end of his life.
In addition, one room in the exhibition is dedicated to the presentation of a series of 43 photograph prints, collected in the 1920s by the American artist Man Ray. This album, which is currently kept in Rochester (United States), allows visitors to gain a better understanding of Atget’s influence on the Surrealists. Reflecting on Atget’s prints, the public will also discover the work of Emmanuel Pottier (Meslaydu-Maine, 1864 – Paris, 1921), his practically unknown contemporary who, like other photographers, explored the subject of picturesque Paris.
Press release from the Carnavalet Museum website
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Hôtel des abbés de Fecamp, 3 rue Hautefeuille, 6ème arrondissement, Paris
1902
Albumen paper print
Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris
CC0 Paris Mus̩es / Mus̩e Carnavalet РHistoire de Paris
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Porte d’Asnières (gate), Cité Valmy (17th arr.), chiffonniers (rag-and-bone men)
1913
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget is known for his views of Paris streets and parks from the early 20th century. Equipped with a tripod, an 18 x 24 cm camera, glass plates with the same dimensions and a black cover, he captured street scenes, beautiful façades or out-of-the-way courtyards. The Carnavalet Museum was one of his first clients and conserves over 9,100 prints by this photographer.
In 1913, Atget became interested in a section of Paris that was scheduled to disappear. This was the “Zone”, unbuildable land that extended beyond the old fortifications built under Louis Philippe between 1841 and 1844. From the beginning, this area was the totally illegal refuge for the poorest of the poor, in particular day labourers and ragmen. They lived there and developed their activities of collection and sorting. Atget’s photos reveal the precarious circumstances of the families that lived and worked in these insalubrious lodgings, without dwelling on their misery. A place with a sulfurous and disquieting reputation, the Zone is represented without pathos or romanticism.
Text from the Carnavalet website
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Chanteuse de rue et joueur d’orgue de Barbarie
(Street singer and organ player of Barbary)
1898
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Marchand ambulant, place Saint-Médard, 5e arrondissement
(Peddler, Place Saint-Médard, 5th District)
Septembre 1899
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Chiffonier (Ragpicker)
1899
Albumen paper print
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Cabaret “Au Port Salut,” marchande de coquillages, rue des Fossés-Saint-Jacques, 5e arrondissement
(Cabaret “At Port Salut,” Merchant of shells, Rue des Fosses-Saint-Jacques, 5th District)
1903
Albumen print mounted on blue grey cardboard
Paris, musée Carnavalet
© Eugène Atget / Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
“Hotel des Deux Lions”, rue des Ursins, 4ème arrondissement, Paris
1923
Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris
CC0 Paris Mus̩es / Mus̩e Carnavalet РHistoire de Paris
Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Rue Asseline
1924-1925
Gelatin aristotype
Collection Man Ray 1926
© Eugène Atget/Album de Man Ray, George Eastman House
Carnavalet Museum
23, rue de Sévigné
75003 Paris
Phone: 01 44 59 58 58
Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm,
except Mondays and public holidays
Art Blart _ art and cultural memory archive 
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