EARLY BEGINNINGS THROUGH MODERN TIMES

PHOTOGRAPHY IN FRANCE

Luc & Jacques

BEFORE THE PHOTOGRAPH…

• The means of printing visual media in the early 19th century was by lithography• Lithography was invented by Alois Senefelder, a

German playwright and actor in 1796• Process used a crayon with grease on a stone

surface

PRODUCTION MEANS REFINED

• Joseph Nicéphore Niépce produced a technique called heliography• Made use of the camera obscura• The process involved exposing an etched pewter

plate to sunlight• 8 hours of exposure time• Through this process the first photograph was

created in 1826

The original image on pewter taken in 1826 before its later reproductions on paper. Taken by Joseph

Nicéphore Niépce from his workroom in his  Saint-Loup-de-Varennes country house, Le Gras.

SEEN FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

The window from which Joseph Niépce took the first photograph

L.J.M. DAGUERRE

• Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre(1787-1851)• Improved the photographic process with

Daguerreotype• Created an image by transferring an iodized

copper plate to the camera obscura in order to collect light

AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY

• Daguerre reduced exposure time by near-accidental discovery• Mercury vapors left in his cupboard developed an

already exposed silver plate• Fitting lenses with larger diameters let in more

light• Daguerre sold his patent to the French

government; the French government gifts the world with the development process

THE FIRST DAGUERROTYPE:“L'ATELIER DE L'ARTISTE”

DAGUERREOTYPE PRINTS

THE INTRODUCTION TO FILM PHOTOGRAPHY

• In America, George Eastman made photography accessible by creating the first roll of transparent film• Eastman’s Kodak company is founded in 1888• “You press the button, we do the rest”• With the advent of the roll of film, the camera

would soon be in the hands of the common people

A “KODAK MOMENT”

BURGEONING BUSINESS

• Photography became more and more accessible with the introduction of the Box Brownie camera (1900) and later, the 35mm camera (1913-1914)• Revolutionary photographers: Ansal Adams

(American), Henri Cartier Bresson (French), and Robert Capa (Hungarian)

HENRI CARTIER BRESSON (1908-2004)

• Parisian-born photographer said to be the father of photo-journalism• Bresson came from a wealthy family, but wanted

nothing to do with money• Left home to become an artist after his father’s

realizations that he would not enter into commerce• Studied painting under the tutorship of André

Lhote at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris• Renounced painting for photography; destroyed

nearly all of his canvases

BRESSON (CONT)

• Bresson’s photographic style was heavily influenced by Lhote, drawing on an emphasis of composition• Was a frequent visitor of surrealist salons near

the place Blanche, a small plaza in Paris• Ironically, Bresson had very little interest in

photojournalism• His photography was very much concerned with

capturing the candid moment• Bresson would only keep his images if all aspects

of the image, in his eyes, were perfect

Henri Cartier Bresson during the Paris riots in 1968

BRESSON’S PHOTOGRAPHS

Focusing on the geometry inside the frame, Bresson’s photographs helped to shape many photographic minds.

His surrealist teachings dominate this image here.

THE DECISIVE MOMENT

• Taken from an interview with Scholastic Magazine in 1973

JACQUES HENRI LARTIGUE (1894-1986)

• French borne photographer and painter most notable for his portraiture of women and early car races

• Was not discovered until he was 69, after releasing 120 photograph albums dedicated to everyday life, his family, car shows, and sporting events

• After an impressive release of his autobiography, US fashion magazines including LIFE magazine hunted him down for his work

• Dedicated to his craft, he worked professionally up until his death at 92 years old

LARTIGUE’S FAMOUS PORTRAITS

Lartigue’s impressive ability to capture motion so quickly is what brought attention to him later in life when his photo albums were

discovered

ROBERT CAPA (1913-1954)

• Hungarian born photographer, a close friend of Henri Cartier Bresson and the most famous war photojournalist• “If you call yourself an artist, you won't get

anything published. Call yourself a photojournalist, and then you can do whatever you want.” – Robert Capa advising Henri on how to get his photographs published• Founded Magnum Photos with Bresson and two

other photographers after WWII to cover news stories and share art internationally (1947)

THE WAR JOURNALIST’S PHOTOGRAPHS

Robert Capa’s photographs covered many of the most important world events happening in the early

20th century. His fearlessness brought him to the frontlines on Omaha beach in Normandy France where he would capture this famous photograph

published in Time Magazine.

GUY LOUIS BOURDIN (1928-1991)

• French borne photographer abandoned by his mother. Maurice Désiré Bourdin raised him with the help of his mother• In 1948-49, he joined the French airforce and

received his first photographic training. Stationed in Dakar, Senegal• His themes were unlike any other photographer.

He created a complex narrative using sensual, provocative, shocking, exotic, surrealistic, and sinister themes. He then added a fashion item.

BOURDIN (CONT)

• Mentor Man Ray an American modernist. He was a fashion and portrait photographer• Guy often treated his subjects poorly• He never saved much of his own work, but his son

saved what he could• His son, Samuel filed a lawsuit against Madonna

in 2003 for copyright infringement on Guy’s works. The claim was that Madonna had copied Guy’s visual, erotica style in her music video for her song, “Hollywood”

A GLIMPSE INTO FASHION AND MADNESS

This photograph perfectly encompasses Guy’s photographic themes. Combining eroticism with color

and stories without context, he creates visually striking images.

VOGUE EXHIBITION

• Guy's 2007 Exhibition

TODAY’S PHOTOGRAPHIC SENSE IN FRANCE

• Heavy emphasis on fashion and female models• Photo.fr and Magnum Photo are French

magazines that cover the world of photography and art internationally• Impressionists continue to try to replicate Guy’s

style of photographic art• Maison Européenne de la Photographie is a

museum dedicated to photographs from around the world located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris

WORKS CITED

• Assouline, Pierre. Henri Cartier-Bresson: A Biography. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2005. Print.

• Bellis, Mary. "Daguerreotype." About.com Inventors. About.com, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

• Bellis, Mary. "George Eastman - History of Kodak and Rolled Photographic Film." About.com Inventors. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

• Brain, Marshall. "How Stone Lithography Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

• Gernsheim, Helmut, and Alison Gernsheim. "The Invention of Photography." L. J. M. Daguerre; the History of the Diorama and the Daguerreotype,. New York: Dover Publications, 1968. N. pag. Print.

• "Guybourdin.org." Guybourdin.org. Maininedit.fr, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.• "Harry Ransom CenterThe University of Texas at Austin." Harry Ransom Center

RSS. Ed. Roy Flukinger. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.• "Madonna Pays Up To Settle Copyright Lawsuit." The Smoking Gun. N.p., 24

May 2004. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.• "ROBERT CAPA." Robert Capa The Most Famous War Photographer of the 20th

Century. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.• Whelan, Richard. Robert Capa: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1985. Print.