The portfolio of the exhibition conceived by the Jeu de Paume, offering a chronological look at the evolution of sporting practices since the end of the 19th century, through photographs by some thirty authors.
From athletes staged by the Nadar studio to Clint Eastwood photographed by Xavier Lambours, the paths between athletes and photographers take many twists and turns in the collection of the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la Photographie (MPP). Sport and competition, highlighted in this year of the Olympics coming to France, offer a unique occasion to unearth rarely shown images that bring together photographers working on commission or pursuing personal projects, be they writer-photographers like Émile Zola, photojournalists like Guy Le Querrec and Renée Falcke, illustrators like René-Jacques, or visual artists like Gladys.
Since the medium's invention in the mid-nineteenth century, amateur and professional photographers have captured emerging sporting practices, beginning in the upper echelons of society. In the early twentieth century, leisure time entered the daily life of the masses; gymnasts, cyclists, ballplayers and fencers became recurring motifs in photographs. Some celebrate the pleasure of the athletic gesture, while others exalt the quest for precision that leads to high performance. Over time sport was democratised, and an industry was born. The quest for speed and power as absolute proof of excellence took its place in dedicated venues: stadiums and racing circuits.
The product of a partnership between the Jeu de Paume, the MPP, and the city of Reims, History of Sports is an opportunity to discover or rediscover the sports photography held in France's national collections. It showcases, like this accompanying portfolio, a wide variety of approaches, gathering over two hundred prints by thirty professional and amateur photographers, from the 1890s to the 2000s.
Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition conceived and organized by the Jeu de Paume, Paris in collaboration with the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la Photographie and presented at the Cellier by the city of Reims from May 24 to August 25, 2024.
Photographs by Jules Antoine, Fernand Baldet, Alain Balmayer, Luc Choquer, René Desclée, Gilles Ehrmann, Renée Falcke, Collectif Faut voir, Amélie Galup, Gladys, Jean Gaumy, André Kertész, François Kollar, Xavier Lambours, Paul Lancrenon, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Gustave-William Lemaire, Guy Le Querrec, Jean Mounicq, Paul Nadar, Marie-Paule Nègre, Roger Parry, Jean Pottier, René-Jacques, Bruno Réquillart, Jean Roubier, Lucien Roy, Hervé Tardy, Gérard Uféras, Raymond Voinquel, Martine Voyeux, Émile Zola.
Texts by Loriane Bonnet, Matthieu Rivallin, Pia Viewing.
published in May 2024
bilingual edition (English / French)
22 x 31 cm (softcover)
96 pages (106 ill.)
ISBN : 978-2-915704-99-0
