Léonard Misonne (; 1 July 1870 14 September 1943) was a Belgian

pictorialist Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer ha ...

photographer. He is known for his landscapes and street scenes with atmospheric skies.

Early life

Born to a wealthy family in

Gilly, Belgium Gilly (, ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality of its own before the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1977. It houses ...

in 1870, Léonard Misonne was one of many children of Adèle Pirmez and lawyer and industrialist Louis Misonne. He studied Greek and humanities in Charleroi before going to the

Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

where he got a degree in

mining engineering Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

. However, he did not become a mining engineer in the long term.

Photography

Misonne is best known for his atmospheric photographs of landscapes and street scenes, with light as a key feature, and as a pioneer of pictorialism. According to the Directory of Belgian Photographers, ''"Misonne’s work is characterised by a masterly treatment of light and atmospheric conditions. His images express poetic qualities, but sometimes slip into an anecdotal sentimentality."'' He was nicknamed "the

Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly t ...

of photography". Misonne devoted himself to photography from 1896, joining the Belgian Photography Association in 1897. He became a leading light in pictorialism, frequently exhibiting his photographs at exhibitions. He also did slide shows. Much of his photography was in Belgium and the Netherlands, but he also visited London, France, Germany and Switzerland. The German occupation of Belgium during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

greatly restricted his photography.

Techniques

Misonne would often photograph things that were strongly illuminated from behind, producing a halo effect. He would also retouch the lighting effects in his photographs, experimenting with and using many techniques, such as the Fresson process and later the bromoil and mediobrome processes. He also invented the "flou-net" and "photo-dessin" processes.

Quotes

Personal life

Misonne married Louise Valentine Lambin in 1906, and they had several children. He supported himself with the family fortune. Misonne was a keen cyclist, winning some races. Misonne suffered severely from

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

throughout his life, and died in Gilly in 1943.

Bibliography

* ''Tableaux photographiques'', by Léonard Misonne, 1927

Gallery

File:Misonne, Molen.jpg , By the mill, 1910s File:Misonne 12.jpg , At sunset File:Misonne, Rainy day.jpg , Rainy day, 1930s File:Misonne, Station Namen.jpg , Exit from Namur station File:Waterloo Place (14320178125).jpg , Waterloo Place, London, 1899 File:Misonne, Boom.jpg , Tree in the mist, 1910s File:Misonne, Parasol.jpg , Strolling with a parasol, 1910s File:Leonard Misonne Rainy Street with Tram in Brussels.jpg , Rainy street with tram in Brussels, 1937

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misonne, Léonard Belgian photographers Landscape photographers Pictorialists 1870 births 1943 deaths