Paris, "as it was", Harry Styles would hum upon discovering this exhibit. “Paris Rive Droite/Rive Gauche, the banks of the Seine between work and leisure” is a series of black and white prints. To browse at number 6 rue de Seine until September 30th. In this art gallery dedicated to photography, Gilles Taquet and Hélène Corre bring the past to life on modern prints.
A century in black and white
Paris from the 1850s to the 1960s tells us about life back then. It is in black and white on the 86 shots. All of them, so striking that one cannot imagine this Parisian past in color. Here, anglers in 1940, a little further, others, at the Auteuil viaduct, would be interrupted by an episode of flooding... This exhibition is an opportunity for the young (and not so young) generation to discover a professional universe that we would associate today with arduous work. Labour, one would have considered in those days. On the walls, in black and white, it is a question of work, but also leisure activities such as swimming in the Seine on floating mattresses in 1914.
Forgotten trades
This time when coal miners unloaded the barges, when itinerant wigmakers strolled on the quays, when the cowherds traded at the milkman's hour... The very busy mattress makers shared the quays with the barbers, dog washers... A time gone by, that that of the wine barrels stored on the quays of Bercy, or even that of horse bathing at the port of Javel! Unthinkable and unbelievable these days, but true! Thanks to the photo, jealously preserved, this patrimonial heritage knew how to cross the decades. A must see at the Roger-Viollet gallery, and why not treat yourself to a print. A whole section of Parisian history and memory.
Limited edition
Each print is numbered in a limited edition of thirty copies. The exhibition is a nod, in homage to this other key character of the J0 2024: the Seine, a real playground. It was important for the Roger-Viollet gallery team to restore the history. This is done through 86 prints, the largest format of which retraces the Universal Exhibition of 1900 seen from the Trocadéro. A spectacular shot, taken by Neurdein from the Eiffel Tower.
The Seine, a character in its own right
Center of all attention, crossroads of professional activities, and leisure base, the Seine and its quays defy time. The Seine is quite a symbol, as much as the Eiffel Tower. Today, a center of interest for walkers and lovers of guinguettes. Formerly a place of work and relaxation.
But also “a place of technological and industrial challenge, with the metro passing under the Seine” observes Gilles Taquet, the director of the gallery. “The thirteen kilometers of the Seine are marked by this, with the connection of the two banks in order to allow the circulation of the metro under the Seine. “Or even the construction of metal structures such as the Austerlitz viaduct inaugurated in 1904.”
Former news agency
The walls of the Roger-Viollet gallery are laden with voluminous pine green briefcases. On all of them, skilfully listed, the theme and the period are handwritten. The interior of each is a mine of information on each era, universe such as fashion, or travel. And for good reason, its first activity, its vocation from 1938, is that of photo agency: photographic documentation. The press is unconditional. Its founder, Hélène Roger-Viollet enriches the photographic collection through various purchases. Moreover, until the mid-1980s, with her spouse, she acquired 6 million photos. On the shelves, out of sight, a gallery of portraits of personalities, clowns, the photo story of major events, from international politics to Parisian news...
This will soon become an international reference in the field of news photography, then of the archive. More than half a century and many societal changes later, the agency became the Roger-Viollet gallery in 2020. To date, a collection of one million photos has already been digitized in high definition. The prints are of high quality, on baryta paper. The art of keeping them, today and tomorrow, the appearance of yesteryear. Clichés parade, historic Paris comes back to life.
Roger Viollet Gallery , 6 Rue de Seine 75006 Paris
By Lucile Gelebart
