Au Petit Bacchus, rue St. Louis en l'Ile, 61 (Shop Sign, rue St. St. Louis en l'Ile)

Storefront (Little Bacchus)

Eugène Atget made this image of a storefront with a baby Bacchus about seven years after he made Storefront (Little Bacchus), a photograph that encompassed the shop's entire facade. When he reprinted from his original negative, Atget moved significantly closer to the sign itself, which allowed him to capture the details of the ironwork at a larger scale.

Historic architectural embellishment, such as this ironwork, was a significant part of Atget's work. He marketed his series of prints, entitled "documents for artists," to a modest clientele of artists who would have used the images as source material for their own work.