Eugene Atget was born in Libourne, near Bordeaux in 1857 and died at age 70 August 4th 1927 in Paris, France. His parents died when he was 5, so he stayed with his maternal grandparents. After receiving secondary education, later on he was at sea as a cabin boy or sailor of some sort.
Atget moved to Paris in the late 1870's, determined to become an actor. After failing the entrance exam to drama school once, he passed the second time and became a student at Conservatoire d'art. However, he could not complete his studies due to being drafted for military services, so he was kicked out of the school. Still in Paris with the passion of acting, Atget became an actor with a group that preformed traveling around the Paris suburbs and provinces. He met his wife, actress Valentine Delafosse while he traveled around. Since he didn't have much success he officially quit acting in 1877, and experimented with painting as an amateur. After little progress, he gave up most of his passion for painting. Instead, he tested his skills with photography. He took his first photos in 1888, and self trained himself until he returned to Paris in 1890 to become a professional photographer after drifting around the outskirts of Italy. He sold photos to other artists and families, and continued photography throughout the rest of his life. His work was advertised by other artists as well.
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