Lot Essay
Émile Fréchon is perhaps best known for his monumental portraits of peasants and fisherfolk in Northern France, many of which were exhibited in 'The Real France Explored by Émile Fréchon' at the Royal Photographic Society in 1987. He favoured straight photography and worked with a plate camera to record the everday life of the peasants in the subtle light of Northern France.
The collection includes images from Aix-les-Bains, Auberin, Barbizan, Bordeaux, Chambery, Grenoble and Bruges and comprises portraits of the photographer with his camera (frontispiece), cotton-spinners, steel-workers, washer-women, farmers milking their cows, potters, a clog-maker (illus.), and several of field-workers; kitchen scenes, group portraits at the seaside, several market and café scenes, and images of children playing.
The collection includes images from Aix-les-Bains, Auberin, Barbizan, Bordeaux, Chambery, Grenoble and Bruges and comprises portraits of the photographer with his camera (frontispiece), cotton-spinners, steel-workers, washer-women, farmers milking their cows, potters, a clog-maker (illus.), and several of field-workers; kitchen scenes, group portraits at the seaside, several market and café scenes, and images of children playing.