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Paris
Paris promenade
Eugene Atget s unique city portrait
A flaneur and photographer at once, Eugene Atget (1857 1927) was obsessed with walking the streets. After trying his hand at painting and acting, the native of Libourne turned to photography and moved to Paris. He supplied studies for painters, architects, and stage designers, but became enraptured by what he called documents of the city and its environs. His scenes rarely included people, but rather the architecture, landscape, and artifacts that made up the societal and cultural stage.
Atget was not particularly renowned during his lifetime but in the 1920s came to the attention of the Dada and Surrealist avant-garde through Man Ray. Four of his images, with their particular fusion of mimesis and mystery, appeared in the surrealist journal, La Revolution Surrealiste, while Ray and much of his artistic circle purchased Atget prints. His fame grew after his death, with several articles and a monograph by Berenice Abbott. Several leading photographers, including Walker Evans and Bill Brandt, have since acknowledged their debt to Atget.
This fresh TASCHEN edition gathers some 500 photographs from the Atget archives to celebrate his oustanding eye for the urban environment and evocation of a Paris gone by. Down main streets and side streets, past shops and churches, through courtyards and arcades and the 20 arrondissements, we find a unique portrait of a beloved city and the making of a modern photographic master.
About the series:
Bibliotheca Universalis Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!
Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, the name TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together nearly 100 of our all-time favorite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.
Bookworm s delight never bore, always excite!
Text in English, French, and German"
Eugene Atget s unique city portrait
A flaneur and photographer at once, Eugene Atget (1857 1927) was obsessed with walking the streets. After trying his hand at painting and acting, the native of Libourne turned to photography and moved to Paris. He supplied studies for painters, architects, and stage designers, but became enraptured by what he called documents of the city and its environs. His scenes rarely included people, but rather the architecture, landscape, and artifacts that made up the societal and cultural stage.
Atget was not particularly renowned during his lifetime but in the 1920s came to the attention of the Dada and Surrealist avant-garde through Man Ray. Four of his images, with their particular fusion of mimesis and mystery, appeared in the surrealist journal, La Revolution Surrealiste, while Ray and much of his artistic circle purchased Atget prints. His fame grew after his death, with several articles and a monograph by Berenice Abbott. Several leading photographers, including Walker Evans and Bill Brandt, have since acknowledged their debt to Atget.
This fresh TASCHEN edition gathers some 500 photographs from the Atget archives to celebrate his oustanding eye for the urban environment and evocation of a Paris gone by. Down main streets and side streets, past shops and churches, through courtyards and arcades and the 20 arrondissements, we find a unique portrait of a beloved city and the making of a modern photographic master.
About the series:
Bibliotheca Universalis Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!
Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, the name TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together nearly 100 of our all-time favorite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.
Bookworm s delight never bore, always excite!
Text in English, French, and German"
669 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
5 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Eugène Atget
113 books9 followersEugène Atget was a French photographer best known for his photographs of the architecture and streets of Paris. He took up photography in the late 1880s and supplied studies for painters, architects, and stage designers. Atget began shooting Paris in 1898 using a large format view camera to capture the city in detail. His photographs, many of which were taken at dawn, are notable for their diffuse light and wide views that give a sense of space and ambience. They also document Paris and its rapid changes; many of the areas Atget photographed were soon to be razed as part of massive modernization projects.
Atget’s photographs drew the admiration of a variety of artists, most notably Man Ray, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Man Ray even used one of Atget’s photographs for the cover of his surrealist magazine la Révolution surréaliste. The photographer Berenice Abbott preserved Atget’s prints and negatives and was the first person to exhibit Atget’s work outside of France.
Atget’s photographs drew the admiration of a variety of artists, most notably Man Ray, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Man Ray even used one of Atget’s photographs for the cover of his surrealist magazine la Révolution surréaliste. The photographer Berenice Abbott preserved Atget’s prints and negatives and was the first person to exhibit Atget’s work outside of France.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 27, 2023
Atget was a chronicler of fading Paris between the late 1890s and the 1920s. This book, loaded with stirring photos of the architecture and people of Paris at that time, transports the reader into the era. I found myself lost in some of these photos, gazing at the people Atget photographed, looking at both the famed buildings as well as working class neighborhoods and even slum areas, transfixed as I wondered what their lives were really like, and what became of some of these people as their lives progressed. Atget was not a neutral chronicler, and some might fault him for that. He disapproved of the way that some of old Paris was lost as it moved into the 20th century, and he largely ignored new architecture. His bias aside, he was an expert at framing his shots and capturing his subjects, and many of the photos here give us a perspective on Paris at the turn of the 20th century that is remarkable.
November 13, 2021
Eugène Atget possessed a singular vision to create a record of the architecture of ‘Old Paris’ before it was swept away by modernisation in the early 20th century. Recognising that many pre-revolutionary buildings were imperilled, Atget traversed the city in its entirety to create what became the most comprehensive visual account of a city’s architecture anywhere in the world at the time. This excellent volume by Taschen presents over 500 of his photographs organised by arrondissement and accompanied by an illuminating biography of Atget’s life and work.
December 12, 2020
Taschen has done it again: a remarkable book about Eugène Atget and his amazing photography - definitely a putative forefather of modern photography - to paraphrase a line, a 19th century man with 20th century photographic skills. The book, after a fabulous introduction about Atget, then proceeds to walk the reader and viewer through all 20 Paris arrondissements, photos of each, with a historical overview of each.
What a joy this book is. Beautiful. Educational. A treasure.
What a joy this book is. Beautiful. Educational. A treasure.
January 17, 2017
I know this book, for many people, will serve as a testament to how much the city has changed over time, but for me, it's an affirmation that Parisian life has remained much the same. Almost every page had me nudging someone to look with me. I can't recommend Atget's work enough.
December 24, 2020
magnificent book, with all its old photos.
old paris that some don't exists anymore...
it felt like going back to the past and live it.
really beautiful, seeing all these historical location in paris,
all the houses, buildings.... landscape.
really worth this book, to have it.
old paris that some don't exists anymore...
it felt like going back to the past and live it.
really beautiful, seeing all these historical location in paris,
all the houses, buildings.... landscape.
really worth this book, to have it.
November 12, 2023
The photos are stunning and Atget is more than deserving of his reputation. Unfortunately, the structure and presentation of the Taschen book work against the art. MOMA's multi-volume "Work of Atget" seems like a much better choice.
May 22, 2017
This is a great and extensive collection of Atget's exquisite shots of Paris with more than 650 pages. It's published by Taschen, another in their large collection of art books.
June 9, 2019
Through one of the original street photographers, this tome serves as a journey back in time to a Paris that is both somewhat familiar and no longer known. Fascinating and beautiful.
April 2, 2020
Sehr interessantes Werk aus der frühen Fotografie.
January 19, 2025
El libro está genial y las fotos son una pasada, pero tener que leer con el traductor al lado es un poco coñazo.
March 6, 2025
Each district of Paris (there are 20) is described concisely and is explained where and what Atget was shooting in it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews