Paris rue Saint-Jacques, 1899, Eugène Atget

A man wih many lives, Eugène Atget was during his life a sailor, actor, painter or else editor of a Parisian weekly. But if he has entered history and is now considered to be one of most influential French photographers of the early 20th century, this is thanks to his thousands of images of old Paris.

Tireless, from the late 1880s until his death in 1927, Atget stood as a witness of all the transformations that would affect Paris. Equipped with his cumbersome view camera with its glass plate, Atget was one of the greatest defenders of the Parisian heritage by methodically photographing its streets, old professions, insalubrous neighbourhood or else backyards.

At the end of his life, Atget met some American photographers, Berenice Abbott and Man Ray. In 1930, after Atget's death, Berenice Abbott published in New York a book Atget photographe de Paris which marked the beginning of Eugène Atget's worldwide renown.

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