Les métiers d'art dans les photographies de François Kollar

As part of the bicentenary of photography (2026-2027), the Forney Library presents an exhibition of photographs by François Kollar, who immortalised France at work between 1931 and 1934.

From September 3 to December 5, 2026, the Forney Library is organising an exhibition in the Monica Vitti Garden (formerly the Hôtel de Sens garden), located next to the library.

This outdoor exhibition features about twenty enlargements of photographs by François Kollar (1904-1979), commissioned in 1931 by Horizons de France editions and published in a work titled "La France travaille".

The result is a documentary work of great value, probably unique in France, but also a series of portraits of men and women, presented with sensitivity and respect.

More than 1,800 original prints and nearly 2,000 negatives, published or not, were donated in 1975 by Pierre Lagrange, director of Horizons de France, to the Forney Library.

The exhibition focuses on the creative process in craft trades, from a common starting point, drawing, to the final realisation, whether manual or mechanical.

The most classic example is given, in graphic arts, by the engraver (on wood, on copper) and the lithographer, whose action allows for the dissemination of the original work.

Three other universes are presented, under the applied arts: ceramic decoration, textile creation using various techniques (weaving, printing, tapestry, embroidery), and finally haute couture.