Pierre Jahan (sailor)

Pierre Jahan (9 September 1909 – 21 February 2003) was a French

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

who often worked in a

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

style. Born in

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about away f ...

and introduced to photography by his family at a very early age, Jahan received his first professional commission when he moved to

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 ...

in 1933, through a meeting with ad-man Raymond Gid. In 1936 he joined the Rectangle group of photographers. This group, founded by

Emmanuel Sougez Louis-Victor-Emmanuel Sougez (16 July 1889 - 24 August 1972) was a French photographer. Sougez was born in Bordeaux, and enrolled at age 15 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, where he studied art, but soon abandoned that to concentrate on p ...

, among others, encouraged him in his career as a photographer. During the

Occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, he worked for the magazine ''Images de France'', making portraits of celebrity figures such as Colette, and he produced large series of pictures such as “La mort et les statues,” published in 1946 with a text by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

. They also co-published a book in which Cocteau's poem "Plain Chant" is illustrated by photographed nudes (1947). A passionate experimenter with a strong interest in

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, Jahan produced many collages and photomontages, which he used freely for the many advertising commissions that came his way after the end of World War II. A committed activist for photographers’ rights, he helped to found the professional association Le Rectangle and the French federation of art photographers (FAPC), of which he became vice-chairman. In 1949 he joined the professional photographers' association

Le Groupe des XV ''Le Groupe des XV'' was a collective founded in 1946 by fifteen (hence its name) French humanist photographers who exhibited annually in Paris until 1957. Its objective was to have photography recognised as an art form in its own right, and to use ...

alongside

Robert Doisneau Robert Doisneau (; 14 April 1912 – 1 April 1994) was a French photographer. From the 1930s, he photographed the streets of Paris. He was a champion of humanist photography and with Henri Cartier-Bresson a pioneer of photojournalism. Dois ...

Willy Ronis Willy Ronis (; 14 August 191012 September 2009) was a French photographer. His best-known work shows life in post-war Paris and Provence. Life and work Ronis was born in Paris; his father, Emmanuel Ronis, was a Jewish refugee from Odessa, and ...

, and others, to lobby for the conservation of France's photographic heritage. He took part in their exhibitions and in those held by the Salon National de la Photographie. He died in

. 1909 births 2003 deaths People from Amboise French photographers Portrait photographers {{France-artist-stub