On June 22nd, 23rd and 24th, 2007 On the occasion of its second anniversary, Chambre avec Vues hosted a preview exhibition on Joseph Fortuné Petiot-Groffier’s lab — the oldest known in the world. To accompany this outstanding presentation in Paris, the gallery has brought together a selection of vintage prints and ancient processes: cyanotypes, chrysotypes,…
The discovery of the world’s oldest photographic lab The recent discovery of Fortuné-Joseph Petiot-Groffier’s lab reveals another side of this exceptional personality, to whom the inhabitants of Chalon owed quite many a thing during his lifetime. It had been hidden away for decades, when all of a sudden, it is caught by the bright limelight:…
Near Chalon-sur-Saône Turning a key in a lock has revealed a past hidden away for 152 years: the lab of one of the world’s very first photographers has been rediscovered. Intact and whole. In 1840, Joseph Fortuné Petiot-Groffier opens his lab, which he uses until 1855 – the time of his sudden death under mysterious…
The Photographic Studio and Lab of Fortuné Joseph Petiot-Groffier (1788-1855) This lab is the oldest existing we know of at present (thanks to the receipts, the chemicals can be dated back as far as 1840-41). From photography pioneers such as Niépce, Daguerre, Talbot or Bayard, no entire lab has been preserved, but individual ancient large…
In 1827, during Niépce’s stay in Paris, Daguerre shows him how he plans to capture the images taken by a camera obscura. Once the image is projected inside the camera, the luminal energy is absorbed by a layer of phosphorescent powder and reflected as a light emission. Unfortunately, the resulting phosphorescent image inside of the…
Adding an adjustable saddle and a guiding wheel, Nicéphore Niépce aimed at perfecting this new means of transportation, which – as its name indicates – allowed its users to walk very fast on foot. The Niépce House decided to build an exact copy of the existing original (exhibited in the Musée Niépce at Châlon). The…
Every year, the National Heritage Days are the occasion for the Niépce House to present new research and findings, which then are put on show in the house permanently. La table servie de Nicéphore Niépce Since J.L. Marignier’s research published in 1999, one knows that the image of the “Table Servie” – whose origins were…
The most important mass of documents ever collected about Niépce The book online The Niépce’s House proudly presents the book Niépce, Correspondance et papiers, by Manuel Bonnet and Jean-Louis Marignier, a set of the most important documents ever collected on Niépce. Mainly written to relatives and close friends, these letters are better than a lab…
During the National Heritage Days 2003, the visitors were invited to discover in the garden, opposite to the house, a range of plants that are illustrating some of Niépce’s botanical research (cf. other inventions).The yellow color of isatis tinctoria (“dyer’s woad”) illuminates the flower garden. Jean-Louis Marignier and Michèle Lourseau collected their blossoms after bloom…
The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the Harry Ransom Center for the Humanities Research at the University of Texas at Austin organized an international symposium on research related to the View from the Window at Le Gras (1827)
2 rue Nicéphore Niépce,
71240 Saint-Loup-de-Varennes
France
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The Nicéphore Niépce House is open each year from July 2nd to August 31st only, every day from 10am to 6pm (closed on Tuesdays).