Self portrait research

Eugéne Atget was a french photographer noted for his photographs documenting the architecture and street scenes of Paris. He was an inspiration for the surrealists and other artists, however his work only gained wide attention after his death.

Eugéne photographed Paris with a large-format wooden bellows camera with a rapid rectilinear lens. The images were exposed and developed as 18x24cm glass dry plates.
He advertised his photographs as 'documents for artists' as it was a common practice at that point in time for painters to paint scenes from photographs.

He produced timeless views of the parks of Versailles, St.cloud and Sceaux. In addition to architecture and the urban environment, he also photographed street-hawkers, small tradesmen, rag collectors and prostitutes as well as fairs and popular amusements in the various districts from the period before the French Revolution. The outlining districts and peripheral areas, in which the poor and homeless sought shelter, also furnished him with pictorial subjects.

Distinguishing characteristics of his photography include a wispy, drawn-out sense of light due to his long exposures, a fairly wide view that suggested space and ambiance more than surface detail, and an intentionally limited range of scenes avoiding the bustling modern Paris that was often around the corner from the nostalgia-steeped nooks he preferred. The emptiness of most of his streets and the sometimes blurred figures in those with people are partly due to his already antiquated technique, including extended exposure times which required that many of his images be made in the early morning hours before pedestrians and traffic appeared.
One of the key qualities of his work compared to that of many other similar documentary photographers of Paris, is his avoidance of perfection, that cold symmetry and clear stasis photography is what he is so naturally good at.
He often said, when commenting on his career, "I have done little justice to the Great City of Paris".

The above-left photograph was actually a self-portrait of Eugene Atget. You wouldn't really have thought this because its not in the usually portrait appearance with the posed figure or head and shoulder shot. Eugene has also detatched that self-portrait aspect by using a reflection of himself of which is blurred and people would think that it doesn't really represnt him as a person. However due to the fact that I have researched into his photography and his background, I know that Atget was not a sain man having spent most of his time on his own, he had grown lonely, isolated and began to actually have relationships with his photographs as he couldn't find a relationship within any human being. This photogaph really does represent Eugene Atget even downt o the detatched feeling of it linking to the despair and isolated approach to his life.

There is also a surrealist aspect to this photograph with the position of his body within his reflection relating to that of 'the scream' painting by Edvard Munch. The movement within the photograph screams surrealism with the almost dream-like appearance of himself in the door window as well as the watery appearance of his face.

Edvard Munch's anxiety, as portrayed in "The Scream", was in large part due to his agoraphobia. The main figure is in a vast expanse of open space, and almost feels overwhelmed. Edvard Munch had difficulties in the borderland between exhibiting his work, and being a public figure, while in his anxiety ridden mind he tended towards reclusivity. A nice enclosed space, a lodge perhaps, would have suited him better, cozy by the fire, instead of out in the vast expanse of sky and ground.

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s. The artists that we typically think of as being surrealist artists are Salvador Dali, Man Ray, Magritte and Joan Miro who are well-known for the work they produced within that period.

Surrealism developed out of the ‘Dada’ activities during World War I and the most important center of the movement was Paris. From the 1920s onward, the movement spread around the globe, eventually affecting the visual arts, literature, film and music of many countries and languages, as well as political thought and practice, philosophy and social theory.

Works from this art movement feature the element of surprise and unexpected juxtapositions; however, many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being classed as an artifact.