Toulouse celebrates the centenary of the birth of photographer Jean Dieuzaide with a major exhibition
Toulouse photographer Jean Dieuzaide (1921-2003) would have been 100 years old this year. The opportunity for the city of Toulouse to consecrate him, until March 6, 2022, a major retrospective at the Couvent des Jacobins. “Until now, Jean Dieuzaide has always been exhibited by himself or by his beneficiaries. There had to be a new look at this work”, introduces visitors to the guide-lecturer, Françoise Denoyelle.
Jean Dieuzaide has devoted his whole life to photography. Lover of faces and light, he is considered with his friend Robert Doisneau as one of the leaders of humanist photography. Like many photographers of the time, he worked a lot on order, but his lens was never closed to the curiosity of the world. “He never had a vacation, never had a break, he worked all the time. He was both an entrepreneur and an artist and did personal research “, report the historian of photography, who mounted the exhibition at the Couvent des Jacobins. The retrospective is an opportunity to review iconic photographs by Jean Dieuzaide, such as Dali in the water, The Little Girl with the Rabbit, or The Gypsy of Sacromonte.
This look at men and women made him travel through Spain, Portugal and Turkey. He brings back from his many trips an astronomical quantity of photos. Thus, more than 600,000 photographs taken in 60 years are dressed in a documentary look at contemporary French and foreign society. “It is a real history of photography from the 1950s to the 2000s which is available to researchers”, enthuses Françoise Denoyelle. It is from this immense collection that 200 documents had to be chosen. “We could set up other types of exhibitions”, continues the expert. On the walls of the Convent of the Jacobins, the visitor can admire unpublished self-portraits, personal explorations, works for some never revealed to the general public.
47 years ago, Jean Dieuzaide created in the pink city, the gallery of Water tower, a place entirely dedicated to photography. Opening such a site was an adventure, everything had to be invented. For 20 years, Jean Dieuzaide and his wife have worked for the recognition of photography in the field of art. The retrospective of the Couvent des Jacobins is also an opportunity to pay tribute to the one who had chosen to stay in Toulouse. “The idea of this exhibition, it is to show that Dieuzaide is a photographer from Toulouse but whose work deserves national influence “, emphasizes Francis Grass, deputy mayor in charge of culture. In 2016, the Toulouse town hall acquired most of its photographic collection and included it in the collections of municipal archives.
Disappeared in 2003, Jean Dieuzaide remains today the only photographer to hold the two Niepce and Nadar prizes, presented as the Goncourt or the Renaudot for photography. His work is estimated at nearly a million negatives.
“Jean Dieuzaide: 60 years of photography “at the Couvent des Jacobins de Toulouse until March 6, 2022. Visits to Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – Entrance: 4 € full price