Mission heliographique
The Mission héliographique was a photographic expedition commissioned in 1851 by the French Commission des monuments historiques .
history
In 1851, at a time of rapid development in photography, the Commission des monuments historiques, headed by Prosper Mérimée , commissioned the photographic recording of a number of monuments for which it carried out the renovation; including the restoration of several churches in Carcassonne by Viollet-le-Duc .
The participating photographers were:
- Gustave Le Gray (Loire Castles)
- Auguste Mestral (Central France)
- Édouard Baldus (southeast)
- Hippolyte Bayard ( Brittany , Normandy )
- Henri Le Secq (northeast)
Over 300 photographs were taken by the winter of 1851, some of which are still missing. The program served as a model for numerous other projects of this kind, such as the DATAR's photographic mission and the Farm Security Administration in the USA.
Auguste Mestral: Arles amphitheater
Édouard Baldus: Cité of Carcassonne
Gustave Le Gray: Chenonceau Castle
Henri Le Secq: Strasbourg Cathedral (south facade)
