EXPOSITION - JULIEN GÉRARDIN - PIONNIER DE LA COULEUR

A co-production École nationale supérieure d'art et de design de Nancy & musée des Beaux-Arts / Ville de Nancy

In 1980, in a storeroom of the former library of the École nationale supérieure d'art et de design de Nancy [Ensad Nancy], avenue Boffrand, a treasure trove was unearthed: 59 wooden boxes containing 6,370 autochrome plates, 9 x 12 cm format, almost intact. These autochromes were produced over 12 years (1907 to 1919) by Julien Gérardin (1860-1924), a Nancy notary and amateur photographer.

This remarkable collection - one of the finest in France - has been listed as a historic monument since 2017, and illustrates how autochrome, the first color photographic process invented in 1903 by the Lumière brothers [grains of tinted potato starch filtered light to restore color] made color photography accessible to amateurs. These autochromes, owned by Ensad Nancy and admirable for their aesthetic quality and state of preservation, could remain frozen in the past. And yet, they question our contemporaneity. What can they convey to art and design students and the general public? First of all, their light: these lively, strange colors weave a link between eras. Secondly, their technical complexity: the manipulations involved in creating and viewing the autochrome plate are as many delicate operations. Finally, their intensity: the systematicity of the photographic gesture, its concentration in time and space.

Having digitized this exceptional collection for online consultation by all [ensad-nancy.eu], Ensad Nancy has decided to devote an exhibition to this remarkable collection for the first time: Julien Gérardin, pioneer of color. Presented in the Ensad Nancy gallery, it was conceived in co-production with the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy / Ville de Nancy, in partnership with Image'Est and the Musée de l'École de Nancy / Ville de Nancy, and in collaboration with the Université de Lorraine. This is also the first time that the public will be able to contemplate some of the originals, which are so fragile and difficult to conserve and exhibit. Accompanied by artistic creations commissioned from Ensad Nancy graduates Elizabeth Delphin and Elisa Larrière, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in the work of Julien Gérardin and discover the making of the autochrome.

The exhibition is both educational and entertaining, making the issues addressed perceptible and accessible to all. The exhibition was curated collectively. It was organized by Ensad Nancy and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, in partnership with Image'Est and the Musée de l'École de Nancy. The scenography was created by Morgan Fortems, scenographer and graphic designer. Graphic design for the exhibition's communication and signage was created by graphic designers Océane Juvin and Marie Lécrivain, graduates of the Atelier national de recherche typographique [ANRT].

The exhibition is part of the City of Nancy's Year of Photography (until February 2, 2025), with the exhibitions Visions at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy and La nature en couleurs. Autochromes de Julien Gérardin au temps de l'École de Nancy at the Musée de l'École de Nancy. At the same time, until March 21, 2025, the Société centrale d'horticulture de Nancy (SCHN), to which Julien Gérardin belonged, is hosting an exhibition at the Artem media library. An echo of the exhibition can also be found in the e-Musée, the digital museum of the University Libraries of the Université de Lorraine.

Open outside school vacations.
Further information on the website.

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