PhotoSaintGermain-Paris 1871

Paris 1871, The Commune Uprisings

In collaboration with Denis Canguilhem

In November 2026, the Librairie & Galerie Saint Michel presents a collection of photographic archives relating to the Paris Commune.

The popular uprisings that followed the fall of the Second Empire and the defeat against Prussia form a revolutionary episode that left a lasting mark on the political and social history of the country. The Parisian people, after enduring deprivation and poverty during the siege of Paris, refused capitulation. This insurrection became one of the first subjects of photo-reportage: Paris was the scene of barricades, but also a studio and a laboratory where photographic techniques and photomontage were developed.

Drawn from a private collection, the archives bear witness to these uprisings, from the barricades to the ruins, highlighting the role of men and women who fought to the death for democratic ideals. Transformed, society was turning a corner regarding the place of women in combat on the front line.

Collard, Disdéri, Braquehais, Appert and Blancard are among the first “photo-reporters”, alongside anonymous photographers, covering the city in the midst of upheaval, its siege architecture, and its figures in portraits or staged scenes.

Meanwhile, the photographer Martin Bruno turns his gaze to the same streets and neighbourhoods. A photographer of travel and colour, drawn to places outside of time, Martin Bruno creates geographical portraits that explore the links between landscape, memory and human presence.

This exhibition takes place as part of the PhotoSaintGermain festival. Held in the heart of Paris, in the emblematic Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, PhotoSaintGermain is an annual festival devoted to promoting photographic creation.

PhotoSaintGermain offers a free, open-access circuit of exhibitions across a selection of museums, cultural centres, galleries and bookshops on the Left Bank.