The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP; European house of photography), located in the historic heart of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, is a center for

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

photographic art opened in February 1996.

Location and activities

The

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

Henault de Cantobre, which was built in 1706, houses the Maison Européenne de la Photographie and is located at n. 5, Rue de Fourcy. It belongs to the City of

since 1914. The city authorities asked the

Yves Lion Yves may refer to: * Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France * Yves (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona * ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 Fren ...

firm of architects to undertake the

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of the original building, as well as the addition of a new wing on the Rue de Fourcy. The façade overlooking the street, the period ironwork and the central staircase are all examples of

classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

. It houses an exhibition center, a large

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, and a video viewing facility with a wide selection of films. The visitor can also enjoy the Café sited under the 18th century vaults and a specialized bookstore. The MEP is designed to make the three fundamental

photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed i ...

media (exhibition prints, the printed page, and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

) easily accessible to all. It offers numerous commented visits, conferences and films cycles in relation with the exhibitions. The Hotel houses a photographic

and conservation workshop too (Atelier de Restauration et de Conservation des Photographies de la Ville de Paris, or ARCP). Since 1983 it has worked to preserve the photographic patrimony of the libraries, the

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

and the museums of the Paris municipality, and it offers its services to other French or foreign institutions too. The collection is dedicated to the contemporary creation. It owns about twenty thousands works of art, mostly photographs (silver and digital photography) and videos. The library gathers 24.000 volumes about photography, artists’ books as well as technical or theoretical works, including rare editions. Three or four exhibition cycles are organized every year about artists, themes and movements which mainly belong to the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century. The Maison Européenne de la Photographie is directed since 1996 by Jean-Luc Monterosso (Director) and

Henry Chapier Henry Chapier (14 November 1933 – 27 January 2019) was a French journalist, film critic, television presenter and feature film director. Biography Henry Chapier was born in Bucharest, Romania, the son of an international lawyer and an actress ...

(President).

Access and hours

Métro: Saint-Paul and Pont Marie. The Maison Européenne de la Photographie opens Wednesday to Sunday from 11.00am to 8.00pm. Free admission every Wednesday from 5.00pm to 8.00pm. The exhibition rooms are accessible to disabled persons.

Selective exhibitions

* 1998 :

Shirin Neshat Shirin Neshat ( fa, شیرین نشاط; born March 26, 1957 in Qazvin) is an Iranian visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and th ...

, "Women of Allah" * 1998 : Robert Frank, "Les Américains" * 1998 : " Polaroïd 50, art et technologie" * 1999 :

Orlan orlan is an internationally recognized French artist. She is not tied to any one material, technology, or artistic practice. She uses sculpture, photography, performance, video, 3D, video games, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and ro ...

, "Self-hybridations" * 1999 :

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

, "Us and them" * 1999 :

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

, "Photographies, 1968-1997" * 2000 :

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Is ...

, "A retrospective" * 2000 : Bettina Rheims &

Serge Bramly Serge Bramly (born 31 January 1949 in Tunis, Tunisia) is a French-language writer and essayist. Biography He was born into a Jewish family in Tunis, Tunisia. When he was ten years old, his family emigrated to France. He was married to photogra ...

, "I.N.R.I." * 2001 :

Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the underside of society, and hi ...

, "Photographies 1961-2001" * 2001 :

Raymond Depardon Raymond Depardon (; born 6 July 1942) is a French photographer, photojournalist and documentary filmmaker. Early life Depardon was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, France. Photographer Depardon is a mainly self-taught photographer, as he bega ...

, "Détours" * 2002 :

Josef Sudek Josef Sudek (17 March 1896 – 15 September 1976) was a Czech photographer, best known for his photographs of Prague. Life Sudek was born in Kolín, Bohemia. He was originally a bookbinder. During the First World War he was drafted into the A ...

, "Prague panoramique" * 2003 : Alain Fleischer, "La vitesse d'évasion" * 2004 : René Burri, "Photographies" * 2005 : Martin Parr, "1971-2001" * 2005 :

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

, "Red Books" * 2005 : Dmitri Baltermants, "Rétrospective" * 2006 :

Bernard Faucon Bernard Faucon (born September 12, 1950) is a French photographer and writer. He first established a career in art photography and has exhibited widely around the world. Biography Faucon was born in Apt, in Provence, southern France. He attended ...

, "Rétrospective 1976-1985" * 2006 :

Johan van der Keuken Johan van der Keuken (; 4 April 1938 – 7 January 2001) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker, author, and photographer. In a career that spanned 42 years, Van der Keuken produced 55 documentary films, six of which won eight awards. He also wrot ...

, "Photographie et cinéma" * 2007 : Larry Clark, "Tulsa, 1963-1971" * 2007 : Alessandro Bertolotti, "Livres de nus, une anthologie" * 2008 :

Édouard Boubat Édouard Boubat (; 13 September 1923 – 30 June 1999) was a French photojournalist and art photographer. Life and work Boubat was born in Montmartre, Paris. He studied typography and graphic arts at the École Estienne and worked for a print ...

, "Révélation" * 2008 :

Shōji Ueda __NOTOC__ was a photographer of Tottori, Japan, who combined surrealist compositional elements with realistic depiction. Most of the work for which Ueda is widely known was photographed within a strip of about 350 km running from Igumi (on ...

, "Une ligne subtile" * 2008 :

Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...

, "A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005" * 2009 :

Claude Lévêque Claude Lévêque (born 27 February 1953) is a French contemporary installation, sculpture, and new media, artist, best known for his work in neon. Lévêque, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Bourges, received considerable attention fo ...

, "Le Crépuscule du Jaguar" * 2009 :

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as cap ...

, "A vue d'oeil" * 2010 :

Elliott Erwitt Elliott Erwitt (born Elio Romano Erwitt, July 26, 1928) is a French-born American advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid photos of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings. He has been a member ...

, "Personal Best" * 2010 :

Robert Delpire Robert Delpire (24 January 1926 – 26 September 2017) was an art Publishing, publisher, Editing, editor, curator, film producer and graphic designer who lived and worked in Paris. He predominantly concerned himself with documentary photography, ...

, "Delpire & Cie". * 2011 : William Klein, "Rome + Klein" * 2011 :

Jane Evelyn Atwood Jane Evelyn Atwood (born 1947) is an American photographer, who has been living in Paris since 1971. Working primarily with documentary photography, Atwood typically follows groups of people or individuals, focusing mostly on people who are on th ...

, "Photographies 1976-2010" * 2011 : Hervé Guibert, "Photographies" * 2014 : Barbara Luisi, "Oevres récentes" * 2019 :

Ren Hang (photographer) Ren Hang (; March 30, 1987 – February 24, 2017) was a Chinese photographer and poet. During Ren's incipient career, he was known mostly for nude photographic portraits of his friends. His work is significant for its representation of Chinese ...

, "Love"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maison Europeenne De La Photographie Art museums and galleries in Paris Photography museums and galleries in France Art museums established in 1996 1996 establishments in France Buildings and structures in the 4th arrondissement of Paris