NICE AND SAVOIE: A CONTEMPORARY VIEW

The starting-point for this project is Nice et Savoie, the superb book commissioned by Napoleon III to present to the people of these territories that were incorporated into France in 1860. The book, published in 1864 and today available for perusal at the county archives, contains ninety large prints of iconic locations in three counties: Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Alpes-Maritimes.

François Deladerrière’s approach is to deal with a heritage subject from a strongly contemporary standpoint. It is based on the principle of rigourously comparing the 19th-century print and a photograph taken from the same viewpoint in order to make a comparative study of the landscape. The work raised various questions: How have the landscapes changed? To what degree did the illustrator use his imagination? What does it mean to represent the landscape today?

François Deladerrière, whose work on landscapes is especially acute, here proposes a series of remarkable finesse: the quality of his photographs, taken with a view camera, and his careful comparison of 19th-century prints and 21st-century landscapes, will provide an enduring testimony of how the landscape has changed, becoming part of France in 1860.

The pictures in the exhibition were produced for the 150th anniversary of Savoie’s incorporation into France and also appear in a book, Nice et Savoie, un regard contemporain (Actes Sud, May 2010). The exhibition and book are supported by the Assemblée des Pays de Savoie.

www.francoisdeladerriere.com

Exhibition produced by Le Méjan