--- description: Drawing from its expansive collection of Eugène Atget's work, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is exhibiting more than 100 of the photographer's images, with a show title inspired by the artist himself. title: Eugène Atget's 'Documents Pour Artistes' at MoMA image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83e083b7c25db877/69879c27cd684803e909b4cd/13_moma_atget1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Eugène Atget's 'Documents Pour Artistes' by [Alexander Ho](/author/alexander-ho/) ## Alexander Ho Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 6, 2012 7:00 PM CUT  During the eclipse, 1912 During the eclipse, 1912Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York by [Alexander Ho](/author/alexander-ho/) ## Alexander Ho Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 6, 2012 7:00 PM CUT Outside his studio in 19th-century Paris hung a sign that declared “documents pour artistes”—documents for artists—a statement that captured the modest intent of Eugène Atget. His legacy, the result of a career that spanned more than 30 years and nearly 8,500 photographs, is one of relentless curiosity, devout investigation and masterful craftsmanship. Drawing from its expansive collection of Atget’s work, the Museum of Modern Art in New York will present a selection of more than 100 images from Feb. 3 through April 9, as an exhibition titled with inspiration from the artist himself: _Documents Pour Artistes._ The exhibition, which is divided into six sections, examines the various subjects the artist approached during his life. Atget is primarily known for his images of the streets of Paris, romantic landscapes and images of storefronts (which inspired Surrealists such as Man Ray and Tristan Tsara, although Atget denied any ties to the movement)—but, in this show, MoMA includes a refreshing display of his rare photographs of people, which are equal in their formal rigor and topographical, objective approach. Atget’s approach is paradoxically both intimate and anonymous; despite having photographed seemingly every inch of the streets of Paris, from whole buildings to window displays, Atget never photographed the Eiffel Tower. His sense of dedication to detail, found in his street photographs, extends into his images from the abandoned Parc de Sceaux, from March and June of 1925\. During this time, Atget took vast images of the serene landscapes, all while taking dutiful notes of times of day of the photographs, revealing his highly proximate relationship with documentation. Drawing inspiration from Atget’s vision of objectivity for his photographs, it is perhaps best for viewers to develop a more personal relationship with his work, undistracted by the perceptions of the outside world. The scenes captured in Atget’s images cannot be adequately illustrated with words—luckily for us, he took pictures instead. [Documents Pour Artistes](http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1216 "undefined") _is on display from Feb. 3 through April 9 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City._  La Villette, rue Asselin, prostitute offering her services before her door, nineteenth arrondissement, March 1921 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Corsets storefront at the Boulevard de Strasbourg, 1912 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Corner of rue Valette and the Panthéon, fifth arrondissement, March, morning, 1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Corner of boulevard de la Chapelle and 76 rue Fleury, eighteenth arrondissement, June 1921 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Organ-grinder, 1898-1899 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Hotel of Archevêques de Lyon at 58 rue Saint-André-des-Arts, 1900 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Court at 7 rue de Valence, 1922 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Fête du Trône, 1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Chiffonier, 1899-1900 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  A corner of the quai de la Tournelle, fifth arrondissement, 1910-1911 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Figurine merchant, 1899-1900 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Geneviève, 1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  During the eclipse, 1912 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Avenue des Gobelins, 1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Luxembourg, 1923-1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Parc de Sceaux, 1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Sceaux, June, 7 a.m., 1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York ![Group of Romanies \[gypsies\], 1912](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte36b407e7c436416/698686c3f983e70f0f04ce22/18_moma_atget2.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp) Group of Romanies \[gypsies\], 1912 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York  Parc de Sceaux, March, 7 a.m., 1925 Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/34381/eugene-atgets-documents-pour-artistes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/34381/eugene-atgets-documents-pour-artistes/"},"headline":"Eugène Atget's 'Documents Pour Artistes'","datePublished":"2012-02-06T19:00:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:01.977Z","description":"Drawing from its expansive collection of Eugène Atget's work, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is exhibiting more than 100 of the photographer's images, with a show title inspired by the artist himself.","url":"https://time.com/34381/eugene-atgets-documents-pour-artistes/","keywords":["LightBox","France","New York","photography","paris","Out There","MoMA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83e083b7c25db877/69879c27cd684803e909b4cd/13_moma_atget1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexander Ho","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexander-ho/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83e083b7c25db877/69879c27cd684803e909b4cd/13_moma_atget1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York","caption":"During the eclipse, 1912","creditText":"Eugène Atget / The Museum of Modern Art, New York","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/34381/eugene-atgets-documents-pour-artistes/","name":"Eugène Atget's 'Documents Pour Artistes'"}}]}] ```