Eugène Atget’s Parisian Interiors (French: Intérieurs Parisiens) offers a meticulously crafted glimpse into the domestic spaces of early 20th-century Paris. Atget photographed several apartments, representing a cross-section of Parisian society, from financiers to workers. Preserved today as a separate collection in the Musée Carnavalet, this body of work reveals the complex connections between domestic life, cultural identity, and the layered social structures of Paris during this transformative era.
The historical context of Parisian Interiors is essential to understanding its significance. Paris was undergoing profound changes due to the Haussmann renovations of the mid-19th century, which replaced many old, dense neighborhoods with grand boulevards and modern architecture. This transformation sparked widespread interest in preserving the historical character of "Old Paris," a movement reflected in Atget’s documentation efforts.
Aesthetically, Parisian Interiors exhibits a restrained and contemplative visual style. Atget’s straightforward compositions focus on the architecture and arrangement of objects within the rooms, presenting a still and ordered view of these spaces. Natural light, softly diffused through windows and doorways, casts subtle shadows that lend depth and atmosphere to the images. This quiet, melancholic tone underscores the series’ historical context and themes, evoking a sense of nostalgia for a vanishing way of life.
Technically, Atget employed a large-format wooden bellows camera with 18 x 24 cm glass plate negatives, a methodical choice that prioritized fine detail over portability. The resulting prints, created through the albumen process and toned with gold, reflect Atget’s commitment to quality and his preference for traditional photographic techniques. Despite the simplicity of his tools, Atget’s work demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of light, composition, and narrative.
Intérieurs Parisiens was one of several albums that Atget produced and sold to institutions like the Bibliothèque Nationale. Its critical profile grew posthumously through advocacy by Berenice Abbott and early readings by Camille Recht and Walter Benjamin, which situated the work within emerging modernist and Surrealist debates. Subsequent presentations—among them Carnavalet publications of the album and major retrospectives informed by MoMA’s Atget holdings—have sustained its visibility, reinforcing the series’ role in discussions of class, domestic space, and urban change.
