Gaston Paris, The balanced square
Following exhibitions at the Roger-Viollet Gallery and the Centre Pompidou in 2022, the Gallery now revisits his work with a new presentation selection of 58 contemporary prints in a limited edition of 30 copies.
Gaston Paris (1903-1964) was a unique figure in 20th-century French photography, whose work reflects an unconventional perspective on the subjects he tackled throughout his career. Journalist by training, he began his career in the 1930s, collaborating with numerous illustrated magazines, such as Vu, where he was the only employed photographer, as well as Regards and Art et médecine. He was also a member of Le Rectangle, a group of french illustrative and advertising photographers, alongside Emmanuel Sougez and Pierre Jahan.
Lifeboats on a ocean liner. France, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The Eiffel Tower. Paris, circa 1955.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Train station clock. Location and date unknown.
Limited edition of 30 copies
In the backstage at the Opera Garnier. Paris, circa 1937-1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Pole acrobat in a circus. France, circa 1940.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Bust of Gustave Eiffel by Antoine Bourdelle, at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Paris, circa 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
An eclectic photographer who moved from reportage (the ocean liner Normandie, the aircraft wind tunnel in Meudon, a railway workshop, and construction sites) to highly graphic compositions of urban and industrial landscapes (the Eiffel Tower, behind the scenes at the Opéra Garnier), he captured looks, gestures, and atmospheres with a precision that sometimes evoked cinema. Regardless of the subject, his square frame is filled to perfection, always with elegance. Less well known than some of his contemporaries, Gaston Paris nonetheless remains an essential witness to the interwar and postwar periods, offering a visual chronicle of a changing era.
Factory chimney. Paris, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Boom crane ladder. France, late 1930s.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Ocean liner and cranes in a harbor. France, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Nelson's Column on Trafalgar Square. London, circa 1937-1939.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Trees during winter. Location and date unknown.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The Eiffel Tower illuminated during the World's Fair. Paris, 1937.
Limited edition of 30 copies
In the backstage at the Opera Garnier. Paris, circa 1937-1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Escalator in the subway. Paris, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Lighting controls in the backstage at the Opéra Garnier. Paris, circa 1937–1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The aerodynamic wind tunnel at Chalais-Meudon. Meudon (Hauts-de-Seine), 1936.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Palm trees. Location and date unknown.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Palm trees. Location and date unknown.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Outside the Val-de-Grâce military hospital. Paris, circa 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Birds flying near Paris Notre Dame Cathedral. Paris, circa 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The great ceiling chandelier of the Opéra Garnier. Paris, circa 1937-1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Dormer window of the Opéra Garnier with a lyre ornament. Paris, circa 1937-1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The corps de ballet of the Opéra Garnier on a staircase in the Opéra Garnier. Paris, circa 1937–1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Camel corps company in the Sahara Desert. Algeria, June 1939.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Along the railroad tracks. France, circa 1950.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Railway. France, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Water tower near a railway line. France, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Monkey at Vincennes Zoo. Circa 1950.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Shadow of a camel rider near a dromedary skeleton. Algeria, June 1939.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Staging under a bridge near the Grands Moulins de Pantin. Paris, date unknown.
Limited edition of 30 copies
In the backstage at the Opera Garnier. Paris, circa 1937-1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Airplane. France, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Trapeze artist in a circus. France, circa 1940.
30x30 cm print
Circus artist. France, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Fabric rose. Location and date unknown.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The dancer Lorna Rode. France, circa 1937–1939.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Woman standing by a railroad. France, circa 1950.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Warehouses of Paris general stores. Canal de Saint-Denis. Paris, circa 1937-1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The aerodynamic wind tunnel at Chalais-Meudon. Meudon (Hauts-de-Seine), 1936.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Water tower in northern Paris, circa 1937–1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Fire brigade conducting drills at the Champerret fire station. Paris, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Worker on a construction site at night. France, 1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Police officer in a snowstorm. Paris, 1940.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The Plaza Theatre at Piccadilly Circus. London, 1937.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Police celebration at the Arc de Triomphe. Paris, circa 1938–1939.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Palais de Tokyo (now the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris). Paris, circa 1937.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Railway tracks. France, circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Railway worker repairing tracks after sabotage. France, circa 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Triumphal arch at the Place du Carrousel du Louvre. Paris, circa 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The Promenade des Anglais. Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), 1950s.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Construction workers on a construction site. France, around 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Steam engine on the test bench. Vitry-sur-Seine, late 1930s.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Barge moored at the Quai de la Loire in the Bassin de la Villette. Paris, circa 1940.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Benedictine monk in front of the ruins of Saint-Wandrille Abbey. Rives-en-Seine (Normandy), circa 1935.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Statue on the roof of Notre Dame Paris Cathedral depicting Saint-Thomas in the guise of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Paris, circa 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Nuns in Rome. Italy, date unknown.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Barge in a port. France, circa 1945.
Limited edition of 30 copies
The ocean liner "Normandie". France, circa 1937-1938.
Limited edition of 30 copies
Selfportrait. France, 1930’s.
30x40 cm print
After his death in 1964, the Roger-Viollet Agency purchased his diverse yet coherent body of work (15,000 negatives). Today, his collection is preserved by the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris and distributed by the Roger-Viollet Agency.
Gaston Paris as brand ambassador for Royflex in an advertisement. Circa 1955.
24x30 cm print