France Celebrates the Bicentennial of Photography with Traveling Themed Exhibitions
In our era of digital screens and virtually endless images and videos, it's a challenge to imagine the time before photography existed. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article France Celebrates the Bicentennial of Photography with Traveling Themed Exhibitions appeared first on…
In the age of digital screens and ceaseless images, it's difficult to envision a world without photography. Two centuries ago, French inventor Nicéphore Niépce achieved the first ever permanent image, a feat he called héliographie. Utilizing light-sensitive bitumen dissolved in lavender oil and coated onto a polished pewter plate, Niépce exposed the plate on his windowsill for several hours, revealing an image of several outbuildings on his property.
This marked the birth of photography as we know it. It wasn't until 1839, when Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre unveiled his eponymous Daguerrotype, that photography truly entered the public sphere. Since then, advancements in chemistry and materials have proliferated worldwide, leading to a multitude of photographic techniques and technologies that we continue to benefit from today, even in the digital age.
In France, to commemorate 200 years of this groundbreaking art form, the GrandPalaisRmn has organized a series of 11 themed traveling exhibitions as part of the Grand Angle initiative. These exhibitions, drawing primarily from the extensive archives of the GrandPalaisRmn and Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie (MPP), showcase a diverse array of subjects and individuals captured in photographs.
From 19th-century studio portraits and dance to rural life and war frontlines, the exhibitions feature works by notable photographers such as Frédéric Boissonas, Stanley Greene, Jacques Piarrat, Hans Silvester, Atelier Nadar, Willy Ronis, and Jean-Pierre Favreau. The exhibitions are staged across France and internationally, with some notable stops including Roubion, a small commune in southeastern France, and the Châtel-Saint-Germain library. The program is set to continue through September 2027.
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