Siddhesh Joshi (Editor)

Jean Laurent (photographer)

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Name
  
Jean Laurent

Role
  
Photographer

Died
  
1886, Madrid, Spain


Jean Laurent (photographer) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Una vision inedita de la alhambra jean laurent fernando manso


Jean Laurent or, in Spanish, Juan Laurent Minier; sometimes simply J. Laurent (23 July 1816, Garchizy - 24 November 1886, Madrid) was a French photographer who mostly worked in Spain.

Contents

Jean Laurent (photographer) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsaa

Biography

Jean Laurent (photographer) FileDiscoro Puebla por Jean Laurentjpg Wikimedia Commons

He first moved to Spain in 1843, and settled in Madrid. Until 1855, he worked as a box and paper maker, creating luxurious boxes for pastries and marbled paper for book bindings. That year, he became interested in photography from having done work coloring photographs. The following year, he was able to open a studio on the Carrera de San Jerónimo, near the Congress of Deputies, the same location where the British photographer, Charles Clifford, had set up his first studio.

Jean Laurent (photographer) FileElx pont sobre la rambla Jean Laurent 18161886jpg

In 1866, together with the Spanish photographer, José Martínez Sánchez, he patented "Leptographic Paper" which produced positives, rather than the negatives produced by the albumen print process. The paper enjoyed some popularity in Spain and France, but was never widely used.

Jean Laurent (photographer) Timeless beauty of the Alhambra Jean Laurent vs Fernando Manso

He could boast of the title "Fotógrafo de Su Majestad la Reina" (The Queen's Photographer) from 1861 to 1868. That same year, he opened a store in Paris, devoted exclusively to selling his photographs of Spain and Portugal. One unusual product produced by his company were fans printed with photographs (especially bullfighting scenes) that would unfold like a mosaic.

Jean Laurent (photographer) FileOriola carrer de la Corredera Jean laurent 1870jpg

In 1874, he was commissioned by Baron Émile d’Erlanger to take photographs of the Black Paintings by Francisco de Goya at the Quinta del Sordo. The photographs were later used as a guide by the artist, Salvador Martínez Cubells, to remove the paintings and restore them for public display. This led to Laurent becoming the official photographer for the Museo del Prado, in 1879.

Jean Laurent (photographer) Timeless beauty of the Alhambra Jean Laurent vs Fernando Manso

Laurent's son-in-law, Alfonso Roswag Nogier (1833-1900), became his principal partner and carried on the firm's business after Laurent's retirement in 1881. After his death, the archive was acquired by the French photographer Joseph Jean Marie Lacoste Borde (1872-c.1930). When he was called to serve in the war in 1915, the collection was purchased by Juana Roig Villalonga (1877-1941), a Mallorcan, who continued to issue images under the name "Casa Laurent" until the archive was bought again, this time by another photographer, Joaquín Ruiz Vernacci, in 1930.

Jean Laurent (photographer) Cada da un fotgrafo Fotgrafos en la red Jean Laurent

After his death in 1975, the collection was acquired by the Spanish government. The "Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España" has archived over 12,000 images created by Laurent and his company.

Collections

  • Las fotografías valencianas de J. Laurent, Valencia, Ayuntamiento de Valencia, 2003. ISBN 84-8484-069-7
  • Jean Laurent en el Museo Municipal de Madrid. Retratos. Artistas plásticos, cat. Purificación Nájera Colino, Madrid, Museo Municipal de Madrid, 2005. Tomo I. ISBN 84-7812-591-4.
  • La Casa Laurent y Guadalajara. Fotografías, 1862-1902, Guadalajara, Diputación Provincial, 2007. ISBN 978-84-87791-90-1
  • La Andalucía del siglo XIX en las fotografías de J. Laurent y Cía., Almería, Junta de Andalucía, 1999. ISBN 84-8266-024-1
  • Un fotógrafo francés en la España del siglo XIX: J. Laurent: Un photographe français dans l'Espagne du XIXème siècle, Madrid, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Caja de Madrid, 1996. ISBN 84-922135-0-7
  • J. Laurent y Cía en Aragón. Fotografías, 1861-1877, Zaragoza, Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza, 1997. ISBN 84-89721-13-0
  • Obras Públicas de España. Fotografías de J. Laurent, 1858-1870, Ciudad Real, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2003. ISBN 84-8427-286-9
  • References

    Jean Laurent (photographer) Wikipedia