The works of French photographer Eugene Atget (1857-1927) can be considered as prototypes for some of the great aesthetic movements (cubism, surrealism, conceptualism) that continue to influence modern and contemporary art. His detailed visual record of Paris and its environs were sold to painters to use as source material, and later to institutions dedicated to the preservation of the city's past such as the Paris historic monuments society. One such body of work was purchased by the Bibliotheque des Arts decoratifs in Paris, which acquired nearly 1800 poetic images of decorative details such as boiseries, door knockers, staircase balustrades, garden ornaments, and magnificent plaster work from Atget's studio between 1900 and 1926. Ever since, this extraordinary collection has inspired decorators and artisans who consulted it at the Bibliotheque. The selection of more than 300 works from the Bibliotheque exquisitely reproduced in this volume were chosen not only for their documentary record of the decorative splendors of Paris, but also for their concentration on the subtleties of form and their stunning aesthetic power. Atget's continued use of a large format view camera and glass plate negatives, even after photography had been technologically improved, allowed for bigger negatives that resulted in fine details and richly toned images. His encyclopedic purpose and the simplicity of his method are so timeless that his work still fascinates today. The poetic impassivity of the images, the detailed beauty of their subjects, and the simple juxtaposition of their proportions will be an inspiration to all those interested in design and the decorative arts as well as those interested in the history of photography.
