“Photography is a wonderful discovery, a science which occupies the highest intelligences, an art which sharpens the most sagacious minds” – Nadar.

We would like to invite you to the HIGHER LEVEL PROJECT Zone for the third exhibition from the “Light of Times – Photography Masters” series. This time we are going to present works by a French portrait photographer, Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon), “a mad man who would always swim against the tide.”

Nadar used to be a central figure in the Paris bohemian society of the nineteenth century. He was friends with the key individuals of the period commonly referred to as “La Belle Époque.” In times when technical, social and cultural progress was gaining an unprecedented pace, Nadar would immortalize the legendary artists, inventors and entrepreneurs in his pictures. Thanks to that, we can now look in the eyes  of Charles Baudelair (one of the most accomplished French poets), Sara Berhardt (an eccentric actress) and Gustav Doré (an extremely talented printmaker and illustrator).

Nadar’s Paris-based studio also welcomed a host of other guests, incl. Jules Verne, Victor Hugo, George Sand, Théophile Gautier, Alexandre Dumas, Giuseppe Verdi, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Honoré de Balzac, Gérard de Nerval, Eugène Delacroix, Eduard Manet and many others.

Nadar was a real innovator when it comes to photography. He was the first to make use of artificial light sources for his pictures. He considered light a way to get inside a human soul and create a “talking likeness.” He also pioneered aviation photography.

The “Light of Times – Photography Masters” cycle organized by Negatyw Gallery kicked off in September with “Silesia” exhibition covering Michał Cała’s works related to our region. October saw a presentation of works by Jan Bułhak, frequently called the “Father of Polish Photography.” Nadar’s “Personalities” are closing the three-part cycle in the HIGHER LEVEL PROJECT Zone.