PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE EMPEROR - Felix-Jacques-Antoine Moulin
Edited by Sylvie Aubenas
The Second Empire (1852-1870) coincided with the spectacular rise of photography. Studio portraiture became a veritable industry, and many new perspectives opened up: the darkroom increasingly accompanied travelers and scholars, disseminated ancient and modern works of art, and celebrated military campaigns and major architectural works. Napoleon III wanted his reign to be one of scientific and social progress, of industry and the arts, of France's rediscovered greatness. Photography, as an instrument and a symbol, offered to serve this ambition. It is the modern medium that will fix the image of a modern reign. The emperor's will was matched by the photographers' initiative: some albums were commissioned by himself or his ministers, others were published thanks to financial support, and still others were offered to attract favor. The Commune's destruction of the Tuileries Palace and the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1871 deprived us of a complete view of the mass of photographs accumulated by the sovereigns and their entourage.
However, a number of surviving examples, particularly from Compiègne and Fontainebleau, as well as archival records, give us a fairly accurate picture. For the first time, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, heir to the imperial collections, is presenting an exhibition of these albums, with their solemn dedications and sumptuous bindings, as well as the care taken in selecting and printing the proofs. While the official art of the Second Empire oscillated heavily between pomp and pastiche, there was nothing of the sort in these works, which are fascinatingly timeless and classically modern. Indeed, the photographers favored by the regime were 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 careers have been largely rediscovered over the last twenty years. But it was still necessary to confront their works with the political issues that gave rise to them, to reveal an all-too-forgotten part of their significance. Since that time, photographers and the authorities have been united by a shared certainty: faith in the testimonial value and power of conviction inherent in the photographic image.
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 p.), black and color illustrations, 25 x 23 cm
Publication date 16/02/2004
ISBN/EAN 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 became a veritable industry, and many new perspectives opened up: the darkroom increasingly accompanied travelers and scholars, disseminated ancient and modern works of art, and celebrated military campaigns and major architectural works. Napoleon III wanted his reign to be one of scientific and social progress, of industry and the arts, of France's rediscovered greatness. Photography, as an instrument and a symbol, offered to serve this ambition. It is the modern medium that will fix the image of a modern reign. The emperor's will was matched by the photographers' initiative: some albums were commissioned by himself or his ministers, others were published thanks to financial support, and still others were offered to attract favor. The Commune's destruction of the Tuileries Palace and the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1871 deprived us of a complete view of the mass of photographs accumulated by the sovereigns and their entourage.
However, a number of surviving examples, particularly from Compiègne and Fontainebleau, as well as archival records, give us a fairly accurate picture. For the first time, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, heir to the imperial collections, is presenting an exhibition of these albums, with their solemn dedications and sumptuous bindings, as well as the care taken in selecting and printing the proofs. While the official art of the Second Empire oscillated heavily between pomp and pastiche, there was nothing of the sort in these works, which are fascinatingly timeless and classically modern. Indeed, the photographers favored by the regime were 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 careers have been largely rediscovered over the last twenty years. But it was still necessary to confront their works with the political issues that gave rise to them, to reveal an all-too-forgotten part of their significance. Since that time, photographers and the authorities have been united by a shared certainty: faith in the testimonial value and power of conviction inherent in the photographic image.
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 p.), black and color illustrations, 25 x 23 cm
Publication date 16/02/2004
ISBN/EAN 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 became a veritable industry, and many new perspectives opened up: the darkroom increasingly accompanied travelers and scholars, disseminated ancient and modern works of art, and celebrated military campaigns and major architectural works. Napoleon III wanted his reign to be one of scientific and social progress, of industry and the arts, of France's rediscovered greatness. Photography, as an instrument and a symbol, offered to serve this ambition. It is the modern medium that will fix the image of a modern reign. The emperor's will was matched by the photographers' initiative: some albums were commissioned by himself or his ministers, others were published thanks to financial support, and still others were offered to attract favor. The Commune's destruction of the Tuileries Palace and the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1871 deprived us of a complete view of the mass of photographs accumulated by the sovereigns and their entourage.
However, a number of surviving examples, particularly from Compiègne and Fontainebleau, as well as archival records, give us a fairly accurate picture. For the first time, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, heir to the imperial collections, is presenting an exhibition of these albums, with their solemn dedications and sumptuous bindings, as well as the care taken in selecting and printing the proofs. While the official art of the Second Empire oscillated heavily between pomp and pastiche, there was nothing of the sort in these works, which are fascinatingly timeless and classically modern. Indeed, the photographers favored by the regime were 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 careers have been largely rediscovered over the last twenty years. But it was still necessary to confront their works with the political issues that gave rise to them, to reveal an all-too-forgotten part of their significance. Since that time, photographers and the authorities have been united by a shared certainty: faith in the testimonial value and power of conviction inherent in the photographic image.
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 p.), black and color illustrations, 25 x 23 cm
Publication date 16/02/2004
ISBN/EAN 2-7177-2290-4 /9782717722901
Publishers Bibliothèque nationale de France
