Eugène Atget
1921, March
Brothel, Versailles, Petit Place, March 1921

Gelatin silver chloride printing-out paper print
8 9/16 x 6 7/16 ins
 
J. Paul Getty Museum
85.XM.350
 
Comments provided by Getty curatorial staff [Accessed: April 26, 2011]
 
A woman wearing high lace-up boots and a short dress of lightweight fabric stands in the doorway of a brothel, presumably where she works. Nothing else distinguishes the faþade of the building except for a faint number 2 above the door; no signs or other markings identify the type of establishment.
 
A fur stole is casually draped around her neck as if it were a cuddling pet, with its long tail trailing down her body. Although she stands in the shadows, she is brilliantly illuminated; the sunlight ironically bathes this woman of the night. She engages with the photographer, EugÞne Atget, openly and directly, smiling as though she has encountered him before. Atget frequently photographed women in and around brothels, since he had no access to professional models or respectable women.
 
(Alan Griffiths, 24 February 2022) Published uncredited in: La Révolution surréaliste, (No. 7, Deuxième année, 15 Juin 1926), p. 28
 
LL/43669