The first hoax photograph was taken in 1840 by Hippolyte Bayard. Both Bayard and Louis Daguerre fought to claim the title “Father of Photography.” Bayard had supposedly developed his photography process before Daguerre introduced the daguerreotype. However, the announcement of the invention was held off, and Daguerre claimed the moment. In a rebellious move, BayardContinue reading “Self Portrait as a Drowned Man: The First Hoax Photograph Ever Shot in 1840”
Category Archives: France
25 Amazing Color Photographs of Paris in the 1950s
Post-war Paris brought a blossoming of culture and thought. The Nouvelle Vague transformed French cinema, young couturiers reinvigorated French fashion, existentialism flourished in literature and philosophy, and the city swung and swayed to a vibrant jazz and rock ’n’ roll scene. In the middle of it all, was Paul Almasy. The well-traveled photojournalist, born inContinue reading “25 Amazing Color Photographs of Paris in the 1950s”
30 Intimate Photographs That Capture Everyday Life in French Psychiatric Hospitals in the 1950s
Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (August 28, 1921 – May 28, 2004) was a French photographer whose works typify the humanist impulse in that medium in his homeland of the period after World War II. In 1954, Charbonnier documented French psychiatric hospitals, and some of the photographs were published in Réalités in January 1955, in which he employedContinue reading “30 Intimate Photographs That Capture Everyday Life in French Psychiatric Hospitals in the 1950s”
France in the 1940s Through a German Soldier’s Lens
In 1940, France was invaded and quickly defeated by Nazi Germany. France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north, an Italian occupation zone in the southeast and an unoccupied territory, the rest of France, which consisted of the southern French metropolitan territory (two-fifths of pre-war metropolitan France) and the French empire, whichContinue reading “France in the 1940s Through a German Soldier’s Lens”
Frances Willard on Her Bicycle, “Gladys”
30 Stunning Color Photographs of Paris in 1923
Jules Gervais-Courtellemont (1863–1931) was a French photographer who was famous for taking color autochromes during World War I. He was born near Fontainebleau in Avon, Seine-et-Marne, south of Paris. Courtellemont emigrated with his parents in 1874 to Algeria, and remained there for 20 years. He became a globetrotter, always in search of something special andContinue reading “30 Stunning Color Photographs of Paris in 1923”
This Is Marie Antoinette’s Shoe She Wore Before Her Execution on October 16, 1793
This is the shoe Marie Antoinette lost on the stairs as she was going up toward the guillotine on the morning of her execution on October 16, 1793. She lost her shoe, then she lost her head! The shoe is now in the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen, France. Marie Antoinette (NovemberContinue reading “This Is Marie Antoinette’s Shoe She Wore Before Her Execution on October 16, 1793”
27 Amazing Photos of French People Posing in Front of Their Boulangeries During the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
France is world famous for its delicious baking. If you love bread, you can find a bakery or, as the French call it, a boulangerie, on almost every street corner. The smell of fresh-baked bread alone can tempt you into the boulangerie and when you’re inside, you are met with the sight of many doughyContinue reading “27 Amazing Photos of French People Posing in Front of Their Boulangeries During the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries”
Candid Photographs of Alberto Giacometti at Work in His Studio in Paris, 1958
Alberto Giacometti was born in Switzerland to an artistic family in 1901. His father was post-Impressionist painter Giovanni Giacometti; his father’s second cousin was Symbolist painter Augusto Giacometti; and his godfather Fauvist Cuno Amiet. In addition to his three younger siblings, two of Alberto’s cousins were raised in his family home after they became orphaned.Continue reading “Candid Photographs of Alberto Giacometti at Work in His Studio in Paris, 1958”
35 Old Postcards Showing Rural Life in Brittany, France From the 1900s
Brittany is a peninsula, historic country and cultural region in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed asContinue reading “35 Old Postcards Showing Rural Life in Brittany, France From the 1900s”
