Fallen into oblivion, the great figure of pictorialism Céline Laguarde is exposed in full light at the Musée d’Orsay

The privilege of rediscovering a major artist, whose work was recognized during his lifetime, is increasingly rare. The history of photography is being written. It is gratifying to participate in it,” confides Thomas Galifot, chief curator at the Musée d’Orsay, in Paris.

After ten years of investigation and “bottles thrown into the sea”, he reconstituted the original collection of the French pictorialist photographer Céline Laguarde (1873-1961). And presents it through a unique retrospective in the world. On the walls, changing from a deep blue to a deep beige, 130 original prints chosen from the 200 exhumed from the archives of the artist’s heirs. Portraits, landscapes, studies of figures outline his universe. Wandering among the eight sections of the exhibition, Christian, 73, admits to being captivated: “The blacks are both deep and nuanced. Impressive ! » The technical virtuosity of this international figure, praised by his peers and critics, unfolds before his eyes.

Equal to the leaders of French pictorialism, Robert Demachy and Constant Puyo, Céline Laguarde has nevertheless sunk into oblivion. But not because she is a woman. “There are multiple factors,” notes Thomas Galifot, who points to three. Already, in 1914, the war put a stop to the movement. Then, while she continued her experiments until 1937 and exhibited in Nice then in Los Angeles, the photographer did not bequeath any of her work to institutions – unlike her two counterparts. Finally, married at the age of 40 to the Swiss entomologist Édouard Bugnion, she had no descendants. Posterity escapes him.

From archives to picture rails

Passionate about pictorialism, Béatrice, a 68-year-old visitor, admits “discovering the existence of Céline Laguarde. Contrary to my prejudices, I learned here that women could join this movement. » But if, from the end of the 19th century, photographic practice became massively feminized, women were confined to the role of “guardians of family memory”, explains the curator. In her early days, Céline Laguarde was no exception. His first photos, from 1898, attest to this.

Freeing herself from injunctions at the age of 28, she joined the pictorialist milieu of the Photo-Club of Paris in 1901. Her technical mastery, her symbolist shots, her permeability to foreign pictorial schools will make the difference in her work. Around forty works by his contemporaries, exhibited alongside his own, complete the demonstration. So, if she also deals with the feminine, it is without worrying about seducing. On the contrary, she naturally enters into the intimacy of these models from her close circle, as in Portrait of Denise Moreau (around 1910), in the middle of creating her hairstyle, or Portrait of Miss de M (1903). Outdoor photography, commissioned portraits, scientific microphotography… Céline Laguarde holds nothing back. From 1942, a recognized pianist, she built bridges between music, science and photography. This creative freedom makes her a woman like no other.