Raymond Depardon
When: 16.09.2026 12:00
Where: 48.862946, 2.342400
Organizer: Admin
Major figure in the history of photojournalism, Raymond Depardon is honored in Gallery 3 of the museum as part of the exhibition “Remember Me.” His series titled “La France,” dedicated to the French landscape, evolving along roads, dwellings, shops and natural environments, is presented here through about fifty images belonging to the Pinault Collection.
Starting in the 1980s, Raymond Depardon (born in 1942) undertook a long‑term project devoted to France, in a documentary approach close to that of American photographer Walker Evans, whose work he deeply admires. Inside his van, equipped with a standing photographic camera, Depardon methodically traverses the French territory, limiting himself to a single image per place in order to slow the gaze and observe with precision. He photographs, among other things, the sub‑prefectures, those intermediate spaces that are neither fully urban nor completely rural, long absent from traditional representations of the French landscape.
This series titled “La France” fits within a documentary tradition that sometimes aligns with the idea of typology, a genre that has become central in the history of contemporary photography. Yet, far from any analytical coldness, Raymond Depardon’s images remain profoundly human. Beneath their apparent simplicity emerge a subtle humor, an attention to everyday details, a great respect for places and a genuine empathy toward those who inhabit them. That is the whole strength of this work: to turn a methodical observation of the territory into a sensitive and truthful portrait.
Founder of the Gamma agency, member of Magnum, Raymond Depardon is an essential figure on the documentary and photojournalism scene in France and internationally. Through the sharpness of his gaze, his ability to “look at,” and his freedom of action, Depardon demonstrates great virtuosity both in his films and his photographic series. Favoring the dynamic setting of the street as well as the silent vast spaces, he pursues a quest that seems limitless with the same motto: “Have the reflex to stop life where it may be found.”
Commission: Matthieu Humery, photography advisor to the Pinault Collection, with the collaboration of Lola Regard, project manager.
Tags: art gallery, exhibition, photography
Source: https://www.paris.fr/evenements/raymond-depardon-117727
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