Following right on the heels of the Berenice Abbott exhibition at the Jeu de Paume, the Eugène Atget retrospective at the Carnavalet (history of Paris) museum shows the city between 1898 and 1927, and promises some photos that have never been seen before…If you know Paris at all, it’s a strange experience looking at photos of the city and not recognising much of it at all – many tiny streets and rows of buildings have given way to large boulevards, much of the industry of the time has also disappeared. Atget was there to document a time of profound change, knowing full well that much of what he shot was about to disappear forever.

In all, you’ll be able to see 230 photos, some of them very well-known, others being shown for the first time (where do they hide them for 100 years?).The large collection of the Musée Carnavalet is boosted by loans from George Eastman House in Rochester and the collections of the Fundación Mapfre in Madrid, making this an exceptional retrospective that shouldn’t be missed. And if you doubt the quality on offer, you should know that after it closes late July, the exhibition starts a tour that includes Madrid, Rotterdam and Sydney!

A catalogue is also being published for the exhibition. 346 pages, 45€ (here on amazon.fr).

And we have a special report about the musée Carnavalet coming up very shortly. Watch this space!

The Eugène Atget exhibition is at the musée Carnavalet (here) from 25th April – 29th July 2012

Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm. Closed Mondays and public holidays

Official site: carnavalet.paris.fr

Facebook: here

Twitter: twitter.com/museecarnavalet