The Yves Machelon Municipal Museum keeps in its collections a significant photographic collection of Jean-Gabriel Séruzier (1905–1994), nationally renowned reporter photographer whose career...
The Yves Machelon Municipal Museum holds within its collections a significant photographic archive by Jean-Gabriel Séruzier (1905–1994), a nationally renowned photojournalist whose life and career were closely intertwined with the history of the Bourbonnais region. The historical and heritage value of these images has led the museum to consider a major temporary exhibition dedicated to the entirety of his career.
Jean-Gabriel Séruzier was born in 1905. He began his career at the age of fifteen as an illustrator and caricaturist for the magazine Aerosport, before joining the French Air Force at eighteen. During a posting in Morocco, he discovered photography and trained in photographic and darkroom techniques, particularly aerial photography. Demobilized in 1926, he joined the editorial staff of Aerosport as a photojournalist.
From 1929 onward, he worked for Détective, a magazine owned by the Kessel brothers, quickly establishing himself as one of the leading figures of Parisian photojournalism. He also contributed to several national publications, including Voilà, La Presse, France Magazine, J. Magazine, Radar, and Point de Vue – Images du Monde. Through his lens, he captured notable personalities such as Frédel, Jean Mermoz, and Édith Piaf.
Following the 1940 Armistice, Séruzier settled in Lyon, where he founded the newspapers Compagnons and Marche. Sought by the Gestapo, he moved to southern France, became involved in underground resistance networks, and joined the ORA (Organisation de Résistance de l’Armée – Army Resistance Organization). In 1944, serving as a war correspondent attached to the 152nd Infantry Regiment, he was the first journalist to enter the city of Moulins after its liberation. He subsequently followed Allied troops into Germany and was present during the fall of the Royan Pocket.
After the war, he covered both the Nuremberg Trials and the Guatemalan Revolution. Upon retiring in 1967, he returned to painting and drawing. He died in 1994, leaving behind an archive estimated at more than 100,000 photographs.
The exhibition will present a chronological and thematic overview of Séruzier’s career, structured around three major sections:
– His early years in photojournalism, including illustrated Parisian magazines (Détective, Voilà, Aerosport), celebrity portraiture, and depictions of urban and social life.
– His involvement in the French Resistance, his work as a war correspondent, the liberation of the Allier department, and the military campaign through to Germany. This section will notably draw upon collections held by La Contemporaine.
– His major post-war reportage, followed by his return to drawing and painting.
Subject to loan agreements, the exhibition will feature:
– Original photographic prints
– Contact sheets and negative albums
– Reproductions of articles and magazine pages
– Period photographic equipment
– Drawings and paintings by Séruzier (1970–1980 period)
The exhibition will be complemented by a programme of educational and public engagement activities at the Yves Machelon Municipal Museum:
– Guided tours for the general public and school groups
– Visitor guide booklet
– Individual workshops: digital photography, cyanotype printing, photographic walks, and creative workshops inspired by magazine photography
– School workshops: reportage photography, photo stories, and “What Is the Purpose of an Image?” (developed in collaboration with teachers)
In partnership with Le Chardon Cinema, a film programme devoted to photojournalism and war photography will be organized alongside the exhibition. Additional image-literacy and visual education workshops are also under consideration.
A series of public talks will be organized, including a lecture by Jean-Marie Linsolas, Director of the Allier Departmental Archives, entitled: “Jean-Gabriel Séruzier, Photographer During the Second World War.”
