Eugène Atget: “Documents pour artistes”

Atget (1857–1927) is one of the towering figures in the history of photography, a status at odds with his own modest ambitions: His intent was merely to create generic images that other artists could use as studies for their own work (hence the show title, taken from the sign that hung outside his studio). Of course, Atget's photos were anything but generic, though their subjects were quotidian: street scenes, Parisian courtyards, mannequins in storefront windows, all captured with the uncanny essence that defines his oeuvre. This survey, divided into six sections, draws on MoMA's unrivaled Atget holdings to examine the breadth of his career.