Extension until november 5
The museum exhibits, in partnership with the Fundación Photographic Social Vision, the work little known in France by Jacques Léonard, with a selection of more than 150 photographs.
His images, in a very humanistic vein, reflect city life: streets, markets, festivals, amusement parks, sports, fairs, port and seafront marked by the development of tourism...
His marriage with Rosario Amaya, a gypsy from the Montjuïc district, opened the doors of her community to him. Bearing on the gaze of a member of the family, his images constitute one of the most important collections about gypsy culture.
The exhibition will also highlight two exceptional series: Évadés, from 1943, a report on the passage through Spain of French people fleeing fascism to embark for Africa; La División Azul, from 1954, which testifies to the return to Spain of the survivors of the División Azul, 45 000 men sent by Franco to support the Nazi army in the invasion of Russia.
Jacques Léonard (born in 1909 in Paris - died in 1994 in l'Escala (Spain)) first worked in the cinema, notably with Abel Gance. It was during a scouting trip that he discovered Spain, where he settled permanently in 1952. There he became a professional photographer, collaborating with various press organs and setting up his own laboratory, dedicated to advertising photography. He multiplied reports and works until 1975, when he gave up photography for health reasons.
This exhibition is part of the “Arles Associé” sequence of the Rencontres d’Arles
