Eugène Atget’s untitled series on fairs and street entertainment vividly documents the vibrant, ephemeral world of Parisian funfairs during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Capturing scenes from the heart of Paris and its outskirts, Atget meticulously recorded carousels, circus facades, sideshow curiosities, and bustling fairgrounds. These photographs provide an invaluable window into a rapidly modernizing city, preserving moments of public spectacle and leisure that were on the brink of disappearing. After 1910, Atget revived and expanded his Picturesque Paris (French: Paris Pittoresque) project to encompass modern Parisian life. His fairground images might never have been officially part of the Picturesque Paris, but the series' broad focus on Parisian daily life provides a possible context for them.
Set during the Belle Époque, an era of technological advancements and expanding urban leisure culture, Atget’s photographs delve into themes of tradition and modernity. The fairs, with their rich blend of nostalgia and innovation, mirrored societal shifts and offered a communal space for entertainment across class divides. Atget’s images often juxtapose the elaborate artistry of fairground attractions with the broader urban environment, subtly exploring the interplay of permanence and transience. His photographs resonate with themes of fleeting joy, societal transformation, and the cultural significance of spectacle.
Visually, Atget’s work is marked by its focus on intricate details and atmospheric qualities. Utilizing a large-format camera with 18 x 24 cm glass plate negatives, his photographs feature meticulously framed compositions—from views of decorative facades to dynamic perspectives capturing the energy of spinning carousels. Subdued lighting in certain scenes amplifies the surreal and enigmatic tone, qualities that later captivated Surrealist artists and their followers.
First circulated as "documents" to libraries, Atget’s fairground photographs entered broader discourse through Surrealist and posthumous channels—reproductions in La Révolution surréaliste (1926), the Premier Salon Indépendant de la Photographie (1928), and Berenice Abbott’s monograph Atget: Photographe de Paris (1930). Subsequent museum presentations have sustained the series’ visibility, and it is now often cited for shaping modern views of urban spectacle and for influencing figures from Walker Evans to Robert Doisneau.
