Raymond Depardon

Bourse de commerce - Pinault Collection

In Gallery 3, some fifty photographs by Raymond Depardon from the Collection Pinault shed light on his work devoted to the French landscape. A major figure in the history of photojournalism, Raymond Depardon is honoured in Gallery 3 of the museum as part of the exhibition « Remember Me ». His series entitled « La France », devoted to the French landscape as it unfolds through roads, dwellings, shops and natural environments, is presented here through some fifty images belonging to the Collection Pinault. From the 1980s onwards, Raymond Depardon (born in 1942) embarked on a long-term project devoted to France, adopting a documentary approach close to that of the American photographer Walker Evans, whose work he deeply admires. Travelling in his van, equipped with a large-format camera on a tripod, Depardon methodically crisscrossed French territory, limiting himself to a single image per location in order to slow down his gaze and observe with precision. In particular, he photographed the sous-préfectures, those intermediate spaces neither fully urban nor entirely rural, long absent from traditional representations of the French landscape. This series entitled « La France » belongs to a documentary tradition that at times converges with the notion of typology, a genre that has become central to the history of contemporary photography. Yet, far from any analytical coldness, Raymond Depardon’s images remain profoundly human. Beneath their apparent simplicity emerge a discreet humour, an attentiveness to everyday details, a deep respect for places and a genuine empathy for those who inhabit them. Therein lies the strength of this body of work: its ability to transform a methodical observation of the territory into a sensitive and truthful portrait. Founder of the Gamma agency and member of Magnum, Raymond Depardon is a key figure on the documentary and photojournalism scene, both in France and internationally. Through the sharpness of his gaze, his ability to "face" his subjects, as well as his freedom of action, Depardon demonstrates great virtuosity in both his films and his photographic series. Favouring the dynamic setting of the street as much as vast, silent spaces, he pursues a quest that seems boundless, guided by the same motto: "Have the reflex to stop life wherever it may be found." Curatorship: Matthieu Humery, photography advisor to the Collection Pinault, with the collaboration of Lola Regard, project manager.

Source: Paris Open Data ↗