Ernest & Henri Roger: free photo exhibition unveiled at Galerie Roger-Viollet

Galerie Roger-Viollet pays tribute to two artists and scientists: Ernest and Henri Roger. The two brothers are the focus of a free photo exhibition, on view from March 6 to May 31, 2025.

Galerie Roger-Viollet honors two well-known brothers from the photographic agency... And with good reason. Henri Roger was the father of Hélène Roger-Viollet, founder of the photographic agency of the same name. Henri Roger and his brother Ernest also had the same eye and artistic fibre, leaving behind them some 10,000 photographs, now preserved at the Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris.

The gallery unveils a selection from this important collection, highlighting Henri and Ernest. Thefree exhibition Ernest & Henri Roger. Brothers, Scientists, Photographers, from March 6 to May 31, 2025.

Born in the 19th century and dying in the 1940s, the two brothers experimented with photography at an early age, and with the various technologies that enabled the development of this art form. Dozens of black & white photographs retrace the Roger brothers' artistic career, as well as their scientific career.

Indeed, both artists had important careers: Ernest studied magnetic waves and X-rays, contributing to the development of wireless telegraphy. He also worked on various inventions for the French army during the First World War. Henri was a chemical engineer and lighting bronze manufacturer.

The two brothers used photography as a tool for work and memory. They used their cameras to immortalize their experiences and work, but also to capture portraits and family moments. Their pictures illustrate the daily life of a bourgeois family between the 19th and 20th centuries, a period of great change.

Between vacations and family reunions in the countryside, there are images of the construction of the Eiffel Tower and the Paris World Fairs...

Throughout their lives, the two brothers continued to experiment with photography, creating surprising, sometimes poetic, sometimes surreal images. There's a lot ofhumor in these shots, particularly in the tricks and visual experiments they enjoyed photographing.

This exhibition pays tribute to important figures for the Roger-Viollet gallery, but it's also a fascinating insight into a vanished period, a glimpse into the life of a bourgeois family in the previous century. Discover it at printemps in Paris!

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