The Life and Photography of Eugene Atget

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Eugene Atget was born February 12, 1857 in France. He was a photographer known for his photographs documenting the street scenes and architecture of Paris.

Eugene Atget was born right outside the French city of Bordeaux. He was orphaned at age seven and raised by his uncle. After finishing his education in the 1870s, Atget briefly became a cabin boy and sailor on different boats sailing in the Transatlantic. After that, Atget became an actor, but only received bit parts at a second-rate repertory company. He had no success. Later on he met a woman named Valentine DeLafosse whom he eventually married.

Atget moved to Paris in the 1890s. Even though he never really did art before, he started doing photography because he needed money. He sold his photographs to artists in a town called Montparnasse. He sold his photos as "documents for artists." Painters often did their paintings based on actual photos. In the mid 1890s, Atget purchased his first camera and started to photograph thousands and thousands of images of the sights and people of Paris. In 1899 he moved to Montparnasse, where...

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