Paris, the ‘capital of the 19th century‘ as Walter Benjamin famously called it, was the city where modern photography was largely invented. At the dawn of the 20th century, it attracted international avant-gardes and became a laboratory for artistic photography.
Also a capital of fashion and European elegance, many leading photography agencies set up shop in Paris. Throughout the second half of the century, the city remained a breeding ground for cutting-edge culture. Here is an article that looks back at the destinies of 10 Parisian photographers. They were all born in or closely connected to the Paris region throughout their careers.
Parisian Photographers of the 19th Century
The 19th century was marked by cutting-edge research in optics, often conducted by painters who still approached their art with a scientific mindset.
It also intersected with other visual practices like caricature and printmaking.
Daguerre, the Inventor
Originally a painter and theater set designer, Louis Daguerre became fascinated by light and began experimenting with the diorama. This fairground attraction was based on the principle of optical illusions.
A large canvas would change appearance depending on the lighting—shifting from daylight to sunset or suddenly blanketed in fog.
Daguerre would later earn recognition as the inventor of photography, completing the work of Nicéphore Niépce.
Niépce, engineer and creator of heliography (‘writing with sunlight’), produced in 1827 what is now considered the world’s first photograph, View from the Window at Le Gras.
He passed away in 1833, and Daguerre refined and patented the process under the name daguerreotype.
Nadar, the Portraitist
Born Félix Tournachon, Nadar was originally a caricaturist who contributed to satirical publications such as Le Charivari and Le Journal pour rire.
He later created The Nadar Pantheon, a vast fresco featuring literary figures of his time. Then, he turned to photography in 1854.
In his winter garden studio, he captured portraits of many cultural icons: writers like Émile Zola and Guy de Maupassant, composers such as Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt, painter Édouard Manet, anarchist Bakunin, and actress Sarah Bernhardt, among others.
He was also a pioneer of aerial photography.
Eugène Atget, the Documentary Photographer
At the close of the century, Eugène Atget launched a vast photographic collection of Paris, intended for painters and architects.
Soon, institutions also took interest in his meticulous work.
He produced extensive series on urban development in the capital, as well as on picturesque Paris and traditional trades that were disappearing.
He would earn the nickname ‘the Balzac of the camera‘ for his work as an archivist of turn-of-the-century culture.
Parisian Photographers of the Early 20th Century
By this time, photography had fully earned its artistic credentials.
Yet it also extended its reach, dominating both news weeklies and fashion magazines.
Man Ray, the Experimentalist
Born in the United States, Man Ray emerged from New York’s avant-garde circles, particularly those surrounding photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
There, he met Marcel Duchamp, with whom he became close friends.
He arrived in Paris and joined first the Dada movement, then the Surrealists. Settling in Montparnasse, he made the model Kiki de Montparnasse his muse. And he photographed countless artists of his generation: Jean Cocteau, André Breton, Salvador Dalí, and many others.
He also collaborated with the fashion magazine Vanity Fair.
Alongside his partner, photographer and war correspondent Lee Miller, he revolutionized photographic technique through solarization.
He is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery.
Dora Maar, the Surrealist
Henriette Theodora Markovitch, known as Dora Maar, trained as an artist and began her career as a professional photographer.
She became involved with the Surrealists, was romantically linked with Georges Bataille, and later served as Picasso’s muse—before ultimately turning to painting after their breakup.
She produced striking portraits of major figures of her time, including Jacques Prévert, Paul Éluard, Jean Cocteau, and André Breton.
The Hélène Roger-Viollet Photo Agency
Driven by her father’s passion for photography and her mother’s activism, Hélène Roger-Viollet was one of the rare female journalists of her era.
In 1938, she founded Documentation Roger-Viollet, which became an internationally renowned press agency, especially known for its news photography in the 1960s.
Equipped with her Rolleiflex, she traveled the world in search of documentation, often accompanied by her husband Jean Fischer, who tragically murdered her at the age of 83.
Today, the Roger-Viollet collection, donated to the City of Paris, includes over six million images.
🖼️ Continue reading in [10 Parisian Photographers (Part 2)] for more stories of Parisian photographers from the 20th century.
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