L’Å’il frontière: a Photographer’s glimpse of 1933-1940′s Paris

The Foundation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent is currently celebrating the life and works of German photographer Gisèle Freund entitled L’Å’il frontière 
Paris 1933-1940. While she may not be a household name, Gisèle was an extremely influential 20th century photographer and a pioneer in color photography. We had the chance to have an insider visit of the exhibit with Context docent and assistant curator of the exhibit, Lorraine Audric.

The exhibition displays hundreds of prints and archived documents chronicle Freund’s time in Paris from 1933 to 1940, from private collections and from the French l’Institut Mémoires de l’édition contemporaine (IMEC), were Lorraine had first hand access to this wonderful collection.

The exhibit begins with a little background on Gisèle’s youth. Lorraine explained that Gisèle received her first Leica camera as a graduation present and thereafter took it everywhere with her. From a well-off family, Gisèle’s strong-willed character made her break with the mould of bourgeois young women and instead pursue university studies. This was in the turbulent early Nazis era, and like many fellow students, she became involved in left wing political groups. Upon learning that members of the group were to be arrested, Gisèle fled in the night, hiding rolls of film of shots of a recent anti-Nazi protest in her socks. Narrowly managing to cross the border, Gisèle made it safely to Paris.

Visitors to the exhibit travel with her to 1930s Paris, effectively done with a reconstruction of the facades of the bookshop and lending library, Shakespeare & Co., owned by Silvia Beach and its French counterpart across the street, La Maison des Amis des Livres, owned by Adrienne Monnier. Here we see the roots of Gisèle’s friendship with each bookseller and how they introduced her into the Parisian cultural scene. It was also thanks to Adrienne that Gisèle was able to publish her dissertation.

The next rooms show some of her best portraits, a star-studding lineup of the who-was-who in the 30s cultural circuit. These include some of the last photos taken of James Joyce and of a contemplative Virginia Woolf shortly before her suicide, but also emblematic images of French icons such as Collette, André Malraux or Jean Cocteau. Lorraine explained to us that Gisèle often took the photographs for free, but then sold the printing rights to publications, many of the shots on display were actually printed at the time and were sent back and forth to have published in different publications.

The exhibit is a must see for any photographer fans and lovers of early 20th century bohemian Paris, especially visitors to the Steins exhibit at the Grand Palais.  L’Å’il frontière 
Paris 1933-1940 closes on January 29th 2012.

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