Rue Sainte-Opportune (Produce Display, rue Sainte-Opportune)

negative 1908 or 1912; print 1920s

Medium

Gelatin silver chloride printing-out paper print

Dimensions

22.5 × 17.8 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-714220

> One of the persistent themes in Eugène Atget's work is his attention to the ways merchandise was presented on the streets of Paris to potential consumers, particularly of the working class. This store, located on the minuscule rue Sainte-Opportune, around the corner from Les Halles (see [94.XM.108.8](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/101151/eugene-atget-les-halles-french-about-1910/)), which was then the great central market of Paris, went to some trouble to arrange its fresh produce in a tidy fashion. To increase the attractiveness of the fruit and vegetables, the display containers were carefully lined with folded newspapers or white paper, no doubt replaced every day, and the shelves beneath them were covered with additional paper. As is often the case in Atget's photographs, the image conveys considerable information that is incidental to his primary focus. While the principal subject is the produce display, the lettering on the window advertises that this establishment also sold butter, eggs, cheese, whipping cream, sardines, preserves, and pasteurized milk that was delivered twice daily. Just as this picture is an inventory of the grapes, peaches, plums, broccol…