Adolphe de Meyer - The Substance of a Venetian Dream
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Huis Marseille presents a premiere of Adolphe de Meyer’s rediscovered collection of photographs of Venice.
The Substance of a Venetian Dream is the first ever European museum exhibition devoted to the photographer Adolphe de Meyer (1868–1946). This follows the remarkable discovery in 2019 in the municipal library of Tours: a series of 75 photographs documenting his life and photographic work in Venice. This collection is being displayed in its entirety for the first time, and offers an exceptional glimpse into his personal and artistic world.
A pioneer of fashion photography
Adolphe de Meyer was born in Paris in 1868 and enjoyed a fascinating and ground-breaking career in both Europe and the United States. Historians recognise him today principally as a pictorialist photographer (a movement that approached photography as an art form), as a virtuoso portraitist, and above all as a fashion photographer. He was one of the first to elevate fashion photography to artistic heights, creating elegant images for the pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar. It is less well known that he was also an interior decorator, designer, art collector, journalist and writer. He turned his whole life into a work of art, in which photography, clothing, interiors and stagings expressed a coherent artistic vision: that of a man continuously reinventing himself and his surroundings.
Globetrotter
His travels were a constant and invaluable source of inspiration, usually in the company of his wife and creative partner Olga. Japan was an early love, followed by China, India and South America. De Meyer made the world his field of experimentation, and he also proved able to apply the meticulous precision of his studio to the photographic work done outside his atelier. Despite a remarkably successful and influential career he was almost unknown when he died in Los Angeles in 1946.
A Venetian dream
Venice had a special place in his heart. Between 1904 and 1908/09 Adolphe and Olga rented the Palazzo Balbi-Valier, an opulent 17th-century palace surrounded by gardens, that De Meyer transformed from a dilapidated building into a landmark attraction that was pointed out to tourists by tour guides and gondoliers. The Palazzo was a vibrant cultural centre, whose guests included the photographers Gertrude Käsebier and Frances Benjamin Johnston and the art collector Isabella Gardner; De Meyer also invited Auguste Rodin to come and work there. Palazzo Balbi-Valier was first and foremost an extension of his studio, where he experimented with light, staging, and early colour photography, developing an aesthetic that would strongly influence his work and fashion vision.
Through eight different themes the exhibition explores his life, work, artistic network, and the many facets of his work, from fashion photography and interior design to art collection, as well as his special relationship with Olga. Visitors will have a rare opportunity to discover some of the secrets behind this ground-breaking fashion photographer, as well as the city that fired his imagination throughout his life.
The title of the exhibition is derived from an article that De Meyer published in Vogue in 1916, ‘The Substance of a Venetian Dream’, in which he reflects on his years in the city. A copy of this particular edition of Vogue, which Huis Marseille recently acquired, is also on show in the exhibition.
The Substance of a Venetian Dream is the first ever European museum exhibition devoted to the photographer Adolphe de Meyer (1868–1946). This follows the remarkable discovery in 2019 in the municipal library of Tours: a series of 75 photographs documenting his life and photographic work in Venice. This collection is being displayed in its entirety for the first time, and offers an exceptional glimpse into his personal and artistic world.
A pioneer of fashion photography
Adolphe de Meyer was born in Paris in 1868 and enjoyed a fascinating and ground-breaking career in both Europe and the United States. Historians recognise him today principally as a pictorialist photographer (a movement that approached photography as an art form), as a virtuoso portraitist, and above all as a fashion photographer. He was one of the first to elevate fashion photography to artistic heights, creating elegant images for the pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar. It is less well known that he was also an interior decorator, designer, art collector, journalist and writer. He turned his whole life into a work of art, in which photography, clothing, interiors and stagings expressed a coherent artistic vision: that of a man continuously reinventing himself and his surroundings.
Globetrotter
His travels were a constant and invaluable source of inspiration, usually in the company of his wife and creative partner Olga. Japan was an early love, followed by China, India and South America. De Meyer made the world his field of experimentation, and he also proved able to apply the meticulous precision of his studio to the photographic work done outside his atelier. Despite a remarkably successful and influential career he was almost unknown when he died in Los Angeles in 1946.
A Venetian dream
Venice had a special place in his heart. Between 1904 and 1908/09 Adolphe and Olga rented the Palazzo Balbi-Valier, an opulent 17th-century palace surrounded by gardens, that De Meyer transformed from a dilapidated building into a landmark attraction that was pointed out to tourists by tour guides and gondoliers. The Palazzo was a vibrant cultural centre, whose guests included the photographers Gertrude Käsebier and Frances Benjamin Johnston and the art collector Isabella Gardner; De Meyer also invited Auguste Rodin to come and work there. Palazzo Balbi-Valier was first and foremost an extension of his studio, where he experimented with light, staging, and early colour photography, developing an aesthetic that would strongly influence his work and fashion vision.
Through eight different themes the exhibition explores his life, work, artistic network, and the many facets of his work, from fashion photography and interior design to art collection, as well as his special relationship with Olga. Visitors will have a rare opportunity to discover some of the secrets behind this ground-breaking fashion photographer, as well as the city that fired his imagination throughout his life.
The title of the exhibition is derived from an article that De Meyer published in Vogue in 1916, ‘The Substance of a Venetian Dream’, in which he reflects on his years in the city. A copy of this particular edition of Vogue, which Huis Marseille recently acquired, is also on show in the exhibition.
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Where is it happening?
Keizersgracht 401 , 1016 EK Amsterdam, Netherlands, Keizersgracht 401, 1016 EK Amsterdam, Nederland, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherHuis Marseille, Museum for Photography
