He was our father in photography, our mentor, our patron. He was the Eye of Paris Match, the founder of Photo, the passionate collector. He shared with us his passion for the image. Roger Thérond died ten years ago. We are keen to pay homage to him along with his family and friends. We will show the finest pages of Paris Match and the most extraordinary pieces from his collection and present tributes from Edmonde Charles-Roux, Sylvie Aubenas, Didier Rapaud, Olivier Royant, Jean-Francois Leroy, Philippe Garner and Sebastião Salgado.
Roger Thérond, was born in 1924 in Sète. In 1945, he joined the Écran français as film critic, with the support of Jacques Prévert. Three years later, in 1948, he became a reporter at Samedi Soir just before signing up at Jean Prouvost’s Paris-Match, in 1949, as its youngest-ever managing editor. He was editor in chief at Match in 1962 and left the magazine in 1968. He was invited by Françoise Giroud to join L’Express as consulting editor. With Walter Carone and André Lacaze, he launched Photo magazine and joined Publications Filipacchi. In 1976, Daniel Filipacchi acquired Paris-Match and appointed Roger Thérond as its director. In 1980 Thérond and Jean-Luc Monterosso created the Grand Prix Paris Match for photojournalism, in the context of Paris’ Photography Month. This prize is awarded by the weekly magazine every two years to a photojournalist working in daily news. Two years later, Thérond was named vice-president and editorial director of the Hachette-Filipacchi Press Group. In 1989, with Michel Decron, Jean Lelièvre and Jean-François Leroy, he founded Visa pour l’Image, the world’s largest international photojournalism event. In 1996 he became president of the editorial committee of Hachette-Filipacchi Media and a member of the board of Lagardère Group. He quit Paris Match in 1999, after a half century in which he effectively ‘created’ the magazine, and marked the occasion by exhibiting, for the first time, his collection of photographic images at the Maison Européenne de la Photo. One of the most beautiful collections in the world, its images having the effect of turning contemporary events into an extraordinary adventure. He was also a top collector of nineteenth-century photographs. He married Astrid Doutreleau, an Arles native, in 1971, and had four children: Émilie, Éléonore, Ève and Tristan. From its very inception he was a supporter of Rencontres d’Arles, and was a member of its governing council until his death.
