Who's Eugene Atget?

Eugene Atget (1857-1927), born in Bonn, is a French photographer.

I used to be a sailor and an actor, and I started taking photos at the age of 33. He is good at photographing Parisian life, such as parks, sculptures, fences, vendors, bridges and so on. The "window" series shot with special effects is favored by experts. The brothel of Versailles (192 1) has become a masterpiece.

Chinese name: Eugene Atget.

Great

Nationality: France

Place of birth: Ribbon, Libourne.

Date of birth: 1857

Date of death: 1927

Occupation: photographer

Main achievements: new york Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective exhibition.

Masterpiece: The Art of Old Paris

Personal experience

Eugene Atget (Eugè Neat Get1857-1927) is a French photographer. Born in Ribbon, he was raised by his uncle after his parents died. From 65438 to 0879, he entered the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Paris, and then played a small role in the touring troupe. Since then, his acting career has not developed greatly. I didn't take up photography until I was 40. He makes a living by selling photos to artists such as designers and painters, and regards his own photos as the basic elements of creation. However, it was not until Ajet's later years that his works attracted the attention of the world. 1927, Ajette died, and his works were collected and promoted by American photographer Berenice Abbott, which attracted social attention and was recognized and appreciated by many people. His works were included in the exhibition of modernist works, and his first photo collection was published in 193 1. His photos of Paris and its suburbs are clear, focused and unadorned, which have both documentary effect and artistic value. Some photos reflect his exquisite composition and attention to detail, such as AvenuedesGobelins, BordsdelaMarne and Marchandabatjours.

Photographic characteristics

His photography style is very unique. He doesn't like to take formal portraits, but he is good at taking pictures of street people, such as vendors, garbage workers and road builders, and tries to preserve the rapidly changing face of Paris in combination with the street view of Paris. This is especially precious for the photography concept of 19 and the beginning of the 20th century, and it is still in its infancy. Monuments, old churches, old buildings in alleys, street corners, shop windows, girls standing at the door, carriages, buses, street scenes, bridges, parks, figures, fashion models, indoor scenery of various families, street performers, prostitutes and unicycle were all photographed equally by Ajie. The quietness in Ajie's photo comes from being trampled by his light footsteps in the morning. When he was about to wake up in Paris, Ajie quietly collected many of the most touching expressions in Paris.

Eugene Atget made an in-depth investigation on the old streets of Paris, and prepared to spend 30 years shooting this huge theme. The plan was to take10,000 photos, but he used an old camera. At first, Eugene Ajett sold these photos in the Art Reference Room, a small commercial photography organization he founded. He sells catalogued photos to stage designers, interior decorators, painters, official libraries and art galleries. However, perhaps he was born at the wrong time, when few people appreciated his works. The reason is that Ajette's works are visually pure and lack traditional artistic charm.

Ansel adams, a famous American photographer, was one of the first people to discover the charm of Ajette's works. He wrote in 193 1: "Ajette's charm lies not in his skillful use of the original and photographic papers at that time, nor in the beautiful clothes, buildings and people shown in his photos, but in his fair and cordial view that his works are concise revelations of the simplest things around him. His photos may be the earliest performance of pure photography. " Even Benjamin wisely commented: "In fact, Ajit's photo is the pioneer of surrealism, and he is the pioneer of surrealism."

The dusk of life

/kloc-At the end of 0/9, salon photography in pursuit of "painting" was all the rage in London, Paris and new york. But Ajette always lives in her own world. He recorded the face of the city with a 18×24 inch large-scale camera, and took about 8,000 photos in 39 years. However, Ajie's efforts failed to attract people's attention. Unknown, he never published an album or held a film screening before his death. Coupled with illness, Ajette was poor and ill in his later years.

Eugene Atget lives in a small studio on the 5th floor of No.1 Country Street 17 outside Mon panas Avenue. He lives on milk, bread and a little sugar. In his later years, Ajette lived a very lonely life. Fortunately, before Ajet died, his photo value was discovered by Berenis Abbott. At that time, Abbott from the United States was in Paris. She was the assistant of photographer man ray. Man ray's studio and Ajette's residence are on the same street. She saw Ajette's photo in the studio. With his keen artistic intuition, Abbott realized that Ajette's photographic works, although ordinary, have unique "visual purity" and are a group of valuable cultural wealth. Later, when talking about Ajette's photos, she wrote: Their influence on me was rapid and huge, which made me realize that this was simple realism at once. Soon after, Abbott visited Ajit. She met Ajie, who was a little tired and sad, in a room on the sixth floor of the apartment with the words "Providing information for artists" written on the door. She browsed Ajie's photos, listened to his story about the hardships and sufferings of shooting, and invited Ajie to her later photo studio to take front and side photos for him. Unfortunately, when she came to this apartment with photos taken a few days later, Ajette had died.

The glory behind it

After Ajette's death, his works were included in the exhibition of modernist works, and his first collection of photographs was published in 193 1. From 65438 to 0969, new york Museum of Modern Art, which collected Ajette's works, held an important retrospective exhibition for him, gradually establishing Ajette's position in the history of modern photography.

At an auction held by Sotheby's last year (165438+1October 20th), a female body photo taken by Eugene Atget in 1925 sold for 444,750 euros, setting a new record for her single work. Sotheby's auction house in France * * * auctioned 14 photos of Ajette, and the total transaction price reached 692,500 euros. Starting from 1898, Eugene Atget used a 7X9.5-inch wooden camera to shoot in Paris for 30 years, and completed 1053 artistic photos of old Paris, 1568 unique photos of Paris, and two grand thematic photo collections, which are at best only a quarter of all his photographic works. Of course, these albums were compiled and published by others after his death.

works appreciation

Eugene Atget filmed two buskers in Organ Player and Singing Girl. The children looked up at the sky and sang loudly, very cheerful, while the old man was holding the box and staring at the camera with a serious expression. Their facial expressions are in sharp contrast. Ajette is very concerned about people living in the lower classes of Paris and their joys and sorrows.