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Edited by Sylvie Aubenas
The Second Empire (1852–1870) coincided with the spectacular rise of photography. Studio portraiture thus became a veritable industry, and many new possibilities opened up: the camera darkroom increasingly accompanied travelers and scholars, disseminating both ancient and modern works of art, and celebrating military campaigns as well as major architectural projects. Napoleon III sought to make his reign one of scientific and social progress, of industry and the arts, and of France’s restored greatness. Photography, as both a tool and a symbol, lent itself to serving this ambition. It was the modern medium that would capture the image of a modern reign. The emperor’s vision aligned with the photographers’ initiative: some albums were commissioned by him or his ministers, others were published thanks to financial support he solicited, and still others were offered to curry favor. The destruction wrought by the Commune in 1871, which struck the Tuileries Palace and the Château de Saint-Cloud, deprives us of a complete view of the vast collection of photographs amassed by the sovereigns and their entourage.
However, the many surviving copies—particularly those from Compiègne and Fontainebleau—along with archival records, allow us to form a fairly accurate picture of them. The Bibliothèque nationale de France, heir to the imperial collections, is presenting for the first time an exhibition of these albums, distinguished not only by their solemn dedications and sumptuous bindings but also by the care taken in the selection and printing of the proofs. While the official art of the Second Empire oscillates heavily between pomp and pastiche, there is nothing of the sort in these works of fascinating timelessness, of a modernity that has now become classic. The photographers favored by the regime are indeed among the greatest. Here we find Gustave Le Gray, Charles Nègre, the Bisson brothers, Édouard Baldus, Adolphe Braun, Charles Aubry, Désiré Charnay, Léon Méhédin, Hippolyte Collard, Louis de Clercq, and others. Their individual and artistic trajectories have largely been rediscovered over the past twenty years. But it was still necessary to examine their works in light of the political issues that fostered their creation to reveal a long-forgotten aspect of their significance. From that point on, a shared conviction united the photographers and the authorities: faith in the value of the photographic image as a record and in its power to persuade.
This book was published on the occasion of the exhibition "Des photographes pour l'empereur. Les albums de Napoléon III", organized by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and presented on the Richelieu site, in the Galerie de photographie, from February 18 to May 16, 2004.
Authors Sylvie Aubenas, Catherine Granger, Marie-Claire Saint-Germier
Paperback, 1 vol. (190 pp.), black-and-white and color illustrations, 25 x 23 cm
Publication date 16/02/2004
ISBN 2-7177-2290-4 / 9782717722901
Publishers Bibliothèque nationale de France
Edited by Sylvie Aubenas
The Second Empire (1852–1870) coincided with the spectacular rise of photography. Studio portraiture thus became a veritable industry, and many new possibilities opened up: the camera darkroom increasingly accompanied travelers and scholars, disseminating both ancient and modern works of art, and celebrating military campaigns as well as major architectural projects. Napoleon III sought to make his reign one of scientific and social progress, of industry and the arts, and of France’s restored greatness. Photography, as both a tool and a symbol, lent itself to serving this ambition. It was the modern medium that would capture the image of a modern reign. The emperor’s vision aligned with the photographers’ initiative: some albums were commissioned by him or his ministers, others were published thanks to financial support he solicited, and still others were offered to curry favor. The destruction wrought by the Commune in 1871, which struck the Tuileries Palace and the Château de Saint-Cloud, deprives us of a complete view of the vast collection of photographs amassed by the sovereigns and their entourage.
However, the many surviving copies—particularly those from Compiègne and Fontainebleau—along with archival records, allow us to form a fairly accurate picture of them. The Bibliothèque nationale de France, heir to the imperial collections, is presenting for the first time an exhibition of these albums, distinguished not only by their solemn dedications and sumptuous bindings but also by the care taken in the selection and printing of the proofs. While the official art of the Second Empire oscillates heavily between pomp and pastiche, there is nothing of the sort in these works of fascinating timelessness, of a modernity that has now become classic. The photographers favored by the regime are indeed among the greatest. Here we find Gustave Le Gray, Charles Nègre, the Bisson brothers, Édouard Baldus, Adolphe Braun, Charles Aubry, Désiré Charnay, Léon Méhédin, Hippolyte Collard, Louis de Clercq, and others. Their individual and artistic trajectories have largely been rediscovered over the past twenty years. But it was still necessary to examine their works in light of the political issues that fostered their creation to reveal a long-forgotten aspect of their significance. From that point on, a shared conviction united the photographers and the authorities: faith in the value of the photographic image as a record and in its power to persuade.
This book was published on the occasion of the exhibition "Des photographes pour l'empereur. Les albums de Napoléon III", organized by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and presented on the Richelieu site, in the Galerie de photographie, from February 18 to May 16, 2004.
Authors Sylvie Aubenas, Catherine Granger, Marie-Claire Saint-Germier
Paperback, 1 vol. (190 pp.), black-and-white and color illustrations, 25 x 23 cm
Publication date 16/02/2004
ISBN 2-7177-2290-4 / 9782717722901
Publishers Bibliothèque nationale de France
