Exhibition of the Cabinet des Arts graphiques «Alexandre Clausel, portraits d'arbres»
Alexandre Clausel, an artist active in Troyes between 1852 and 1857, was one of the pioneers of photography.
He was probably trained in this technique by the master of the time, Gustave Le Gray (1820-1884), and he showed great technical and aesthetic mastery.
Clausel, based in Troyes, is interested in the urban transformations that are taking place before his eyes with the modernization of the city.
Among the 500 or so views of architecture and urban landscapes preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in Troyes, there is a collection of «tree portraits», real pieces of nature, in the spirit of Barbizon painters and landscape painting that develops from the romantic era.
These works constitute small technical feats: the prints on salty or albumin paper, as well as the negatives on glass plates, very rarely shown to the public, combine both daydreaming and modernity.
Until October 24, 2023