.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Louis Noël Richou fait partie de ces photographes qui, loin des grands ateliers parisiens, contribuèrent à faire connaître cet art naissant dans plusieurs villes françaises. Si l'histoire n'a conservé de lui que les grandes lignes d'un parcours professionnel, son itinéraire témoigne du rôle essentiel joué par ces praticiens locaux dans la diffusion de la photographie au XIXe siècle. Il exerce d'abord à Paris avant de suivre une trajectoire caractéristique de nombreux photographes de son temps, s'établissant successivement à Seine-Port entre 1850 et 1852, puis à Montargis entre 1853 et 1854. C'est à Orléans que Richou connaît la période la plus durable de son activité. Installé au 9, rue Bannier de 1855 à 1880, il y développe son atelier pendant près d'un quart de siècle. Il s’attache à photographier le patrimoine orléanais, comme ici la maison dite de Jean d’Alibert, riche marchand protestant, monument des années 1560 dont le vantail, orné d’un mufle de lion en haut relief, est aujourd’hui conservé au musée du Louvre.Une épreuve conservée à la National Gallery of Art de Washington porte au verso la trace de sa participation aux expositions de Blois, organisées entre 1858 et 1866 dans le cadre de la Société des Amis des Arts d'Orléans. Membre de la Société française de photographie, il termine sa carrière à Étampes, où son fils Henri Louis reprend l'atelier familial.
Louis Noël Richou was one of those photographers who, far from the major Parisian studios, helped introduce and disseminate the new art of photography throughout provincial France. Although only the broad outlines of his career have come down to us, his trajectory illustrates the essential role played by local practitioners in the spread of photography during the nineteenth century. He worked first in Paris before following a path characteristic of many photographers of his generation, establishing himself successively in Seine-Port between 1850 and 1852 and in Montargis from 1853 to 1854.
It was in Orléans, however, that Richou enjoyed the most sustained period of his career. Installed at 9 Rue Bannier from 1855 to 1880, he operated his studio there for nearly a quarter of a century. He devoted particular attention to photographing the architectural heritage of Orléans, as demonstrated by this view of the so-called House of Jean d’Alibert, a wealthy Protestant merchant. Dating from the 1560s, the building is notable for its door leaf adorned with a high-relief lion’s head, now preserved in the collections of the Louvre Museum.
A print preserved at the National Gallery of Art in Washington bears on its reverse evidence of Richou’s participation in the exhibitions held in Blois between 1858 and 1866 under the auspices of the Société des Amis des Arts d’Orléans. A member of the Société française de photographie, he ended his career in Étampes, where his son, Henri Louis Richou, took over the family studio.
Louis Noël Richou was one of those photographers who, far from the major Parisian studios, helped introduce and disseminate the new art of photography throughout provincial France. Although only the broad outlines of his career have come down to us, his trajectory illustrates the essential role played by local practitioners in the spread of photography during the nineteenth century. He worked first in Paris before following a path characteristic of many photographers of his generation, establishing himself successively in Seine-Port between 1850 and 1852 and in Montargis from 1853 to 1854.
It was in Orléans, however, that Richou enjoyed the most sustained period of his career. Installed at 9 Rue Bannier from 1855 to 1880, he operated his studio there for nearly a quarter of a century. He devoted particular attention to photographing the architectural heritage of Orléans, as demonstrated by this view of the so-called House of Jean d’Alibert, a wealthy Protestant merchant. Dating from the 1560s, the building is notable for its door leaf adorned with a high-relief lion’s head, now preserved in the collections of the Louvre Museum.
A print preserved at the National Gallery of Art in Washington bears on its reverse evidence of Richou’s participation in the exhibitions held in Blois between 1858 and 1866 under the auspices of the Société des Amis des Arts d’Orléans. A member of the Société française de photographie, he ended his career in Étampes, where his son, Henri Louis Richou, took over the family studio.