Boulevard de Strasbourg, Corsets, Paris
Atget found his vocation in photography in 1897, at the age of forty, after having been a merchant seaman, a minor actor, and a painter. He became obsessed with making what he termed "documents for artists" of Paris and its environs and compiling a visual compendium of the architecture, landscape, and artifacts that distinguish French culture and history. By the end of his life, Atget had amassed an archive of more than eight thousand negatives, which he organized into such categories as Parisian Interiors, Vehicles in Paris, and Petits Métiers (trades and professions).
In Atget's inventory of Paris, shop windows figure prominently and the most arresting feature mannequin displays. In the 1920s the Surrealists recognized in Atget a kindred spirit and reproduced a number of his photographs in their journals and reviews. Antiquated mannequins such as the ones depicted here struck them as haunting, dreamlike analogues to the human form.
In Atget's inventory of Paris, shop windows figure prominently and the most arresting feature mannequin displays. In the 1920s the Surrealists recognized in Atget a kindred spirit and reproduced a number of his photographs in their journals and reviews. Antiquated mannequins such as the ones depicted here struck them as haunting, dreamlike analogues to the human form.
Artwork Details
- Title: Boulevard de Strasbourg, Corsets, Paris
- Artist: Eugène Atget (French, Libourne 1857–1927 Paris)
- Date: 1912
- Medium: Gelatin silver print from glass negative
- Dimensions: Image: 22.4 x 17.5 cm (8 13/16 x 6 7/8 in.)
Mount: 36.7 x 28.7 cm (14 7/16 x 11 5/16 in.) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee Gift, 2005
- Object Number: 2005.100.511
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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Eugène Atget
1923
Eugène Atget
1922
Eugène Atget
1911, printed 1956
Eugène Atget
1920s, printed 1956
Eugène Atget
1922, printed 1956
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