With Reverse Gear #3: Autochrome, the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie continues its series of exhibitions dedicated to the history of techniques and innovations. This third edition invites visitors to travel back in time to understand how color photography emerged, long before digital cameras and smartphones.
The tour opens with a simple observation: color images are everywhere these days. The exhibition then invites visitors to travel back in time, retracing the key steps that led to the first color photographs. This approach helps illuminate the technological advances that have shaped the history of photography.
The heart of the exhibition centers on autochrome, the color process developed by the Lumière brothers and launched for sale in 1907. This technique rests on a glass plate coated with millions of grains of dyed potato starch that filter light to render a color image. Autochrome represents a milestone in the history of photography, as the first color process to be widely disseminated.
The tour continues with an immersive sound experience that transports visitors back to 1912. There they discover the world of Marc Ferrez, a Franco-Brazilian photographer renowned for his landscapes and urban views, who at the time was exploring the possibilities offered by autochrome plates.
Presented at the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie, in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, the exhibition is accessible to visitors aged 12 and up. It runs from December 1, 2026 to October 2027 and is part of the programming of the bicentennial of photography, which it carries the official label for.
Expect €15 for full-price admission (adults), €12 under the reduced rate (children 6–17, students...), €4 for children aged 2–5, with a sustainable mobility option also available at €12.
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Dates and Opening Time
From December 1, 2026 to October 31, 2027
Location
Cité des sciences et de l'industrie
30 Avenue Corentin Cariou
75019 Paris 19
Route planner
Accessibility info
Access
Metro: line 7, Porte de la Villette station. Bus: lines 139, 150, 152, Porte de la Villette station. Tramway: T3b, Porte de la Villette station.
Official website
billetterie.cite-sciences.fr
