On the occasion of the bicentenary of photography, this exhibition of documents from the archives of Saint-Cloud offers for two days a window behind the scenes of the archives through the prism of photographic heritage. It aims to reveal to the public a small part of the photographs preserved in the archives of the city, while highlighting their essential role, alongside the written word, in the construction and transmission of the history of Saint-Cloud. These photographs, sometimes delicate to preserve, will be presented exceptionally on the occasion of the European Heritage Days, under the angle of the work carried out behind the scenes by the Heritage and Archives Service around their conservation and study. The exhibition will notably establish a dialogue between the photographic archive, the written archive, and the built heritage. She will also question the singular status of photography, at the crossroads of document, object and artwork. Sometimes preserved as part of an archive, sometimes as part of a heritage collection, photography covers a plurality of functions and perspectives, which requires the expertise of professionals to ensure its preservation and enhancement. By opening the corridors of heritage and archival work, the exhibition aims to make visible a set of fundamental but often invisible practices: collection, classification, documentation and, above all, preventive conservation and research.
