L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e ~ D o s t o ï e v s k i

L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e  ~  D o s t o ï e v s k i



Friday, May 3, 2019

Madame Misonne devant sa fenêtre - photographs by Léonard Misonne, circa 1910


If one compares these two images, it quickly becomes obvious that one is reversed. But which? My guess is that the first one is the correct 
orientation. But since all the reproductions I've found online present each as it is here, I've not tried to "correct" one or the other.

*

Léonard Misonne (1 July 1870, Gilly, Charleroi, Belgium - 14 September 1943, Gilly, Charleroi, Belgium), Belgian photographer. The seventh son of a wealthy lawyer and industrialist, he studied mining engineering at the Université catholique de Louvain, but never worked as an engineer. While still a student, he became interested in music, painting and, beginning in 1890, photography; from 1896 he concentrated exclusively on photography. He traveled to Switzerland, Germany, and France, but most of his work was created in Belgium and the Netherlands, predominantly landscapes. His pictorialism was atmospheric and impressionistic - he was dubbed the "Corot of photography" - and he was known for his lighting effects: "Light glorifies everything. It transforms and ennobles the most commonplace and ordinary subjects... The subject is nothing, light is everything."

His wife, Valentine - wearing the same gown as above - with one of their eight children.

In 1906 he married Valentine Labin, with whom he had eight children. He also took his last major tour to Switzerland and Italy. But he suffered from a severe form of asthma and became house bound for much of his life. He became seriously ill in 1940 and died three years later in the place of his birth at the age of seventy-three.



1 comment:

  1. The first two photos remind me of paintings in "Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century" was written by Sabine Rewald (2011). Of course there were practical reasons for women who spent most of their hours indoors... they would want to see the outside world, breathe fresh air and absorb some sun. But oh the light ... it is gorgeous.

    Thanks for the link
    Hels
    Rooms with a View: open windows in 19th Century paintings
    https://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com/2011/07/rooms-with-view-open-windows-in-19th.html

    ReplyDelete