Louis Eugène Pirou (26 September 1841 – 30 September 1909) was a French photographer and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, known primarily for his portraits of celebrities and scenes from the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. He was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1889.

Life and work

He owned numerous studios in Paris, mostly on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, but he also operated one at an old evangelical mission on the

Rue Royale Rue Royale (French for "Royal Street") may refer to several streets: *Rue Royale, Brussels, Belgium *Rue Royale, Lyon, France * Rue Royale, Paris, France See also * Royal Street, New Orleans, United States *Royal Road (disambiguation) The Royal ...

. That one was sold to a photographer named Arthur Herbert, in 1889, with permission to use Pirou's name. In 1898, Herbert sold the studio to the brothers Georges and Oscar Mascré (1865-1943), who continued to use Pirou's name without his permission. Pirou lost a complicated lawsuit against the brothers, who compounded the fraud by referring to the studio as "Otto-Pirou", in reference to

Otto Wegener Otto Wegener (20 January 1849, in Helsingborg – 4 February 1924, in Paris) was a Swedish-born French portrait photographer. Biography He moved to Paris to open a photographic studio when he was eighteen. Where and how he learned photography ...

, a Swedish-born photographer who was also not associated with them.Camille Blot-Wellens, "Eugène Pirou, portraitiste de la Belle Époque", in ''Revue de la Bibliothèque nationale de France'' #50, 24 September 2015, . During the Exposition of 1889, he saw a presentation of chronophotography, given by its inventor,

Étienne-Jules Marey Étienne-Jules Marey (; 5 March 1830, Beaune, Côte-d'Or – 15 May 1904, Paris) was a French scientist, physiologist and chronophotographer. His work was significant in the development of cardiology, physical instrumentation, aviation, cinema ...

. Not long after, he decided to pursue the new art of

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

. He bought the necessary equipment in the summer of 1896 and, together with his employee, Albert Kirchner, who would later become a noted filmmaker in his own right, he filmed scenes of assorted events in Paris and showed them at the "Cinématographe Eugène Pirou" in the basement of the

Café de la Paix The Café de la Paix () is a famous café located on the northwest corner of the intersection of the Boulevard des Capucines and the Place de l'Opéra, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. Designed in the Nap ...

at the

Place de l'Opéra The Place de l'Opéra is a square in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, at the junction of the Boulevard des Italiens, Boulevard des Capucines, Avenue de l'Opéra, , , Rue de la Paix and . It was built at the same time as the Opéra Garnier (desig ...

, with a projector designed by Henri Joly. He and Kirchner later produced one of the first known erotic films, ''

Le Coucher de la Mariée ''Le coucher de la mariée'' or ''Bedtime for the Bride'' or ''The Bridegroom's Dilemma'' is a French erotic short film considered to be one of the first erotic films made. The film was first screened in Paris in November 1896, within a year of t ...

'' (generally called ''Bedtime for the Bride'' in English), starring an actress who went by the name Louise Willy. It was mostly a striptease. He also produced a short film about the Parisian visit of Tsar Nicolas II in 1896. He was married twice. His first wife died in 1881 and his second in 1899.''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', 8 janvier 1899, page
Online
@ ''Gallica''

References

External links

@ '' Who's Who of Victorian Cinema''
List of works
@

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirou, Eugene 1841 births 1909 deaths French photographers