Dr.AniaNov 26, 2022
Citoyen MR

This is one of my favorite pictures. It feels like it was taken yesterday… but it was taken in a Paris public garden nearly a hundred years ago. Everything feels modern: the composition, the casualness, the daring clothes, haircuts, and accessories.

The colors are original: this is an #autochrome, using the first process for color #photography invented by the Lumière brothers in 1903.

The women are unknown, but I can't help wondering how they fared a few years later in nazi-occupied Paris.

Nov 25, 2022 at 12:32pmWeb
Show threadנחום Philoxenon וו.Nov 25, 2022
@citoyen
This is so... touching. Thank you for sharing & @ElHadjiMurad for boosting.
Show threadAuriBlackCat CollectiveNov 25, 2022

@citoyen

Is it known who took the picture and if they did more?
It is a very suprising picture for that time period

Show threadSam ​Nov 25, 2022
@AuriBlackCat @citoyen The photographer was André Zucca
Show threadAuriBlackCat CollectiveNov 25, 2022

@Skreee

Tthank you ^^

Show threadSam ​Nov 25, 2022
@AuriBlackCat My pleasure
Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@Skreee @AuriBlackCat is that so? The Musée Nicéphore Niepce which has it in its collection says it's by "Anonymous" on its webpage.
Show threadSam ​Nov 25, 2022
@citoyen That name is give on the web and seems to fit with his oeuvre. This might be a case of everybody copying everybody else on the web. But some of the articles are about an exhibition of his in 2008 which was quite controversial, so I think that's a good reason to think it's his.
Show threadJennifer TaubNov 25, 2022

@citoyen @AuriBlackCat @Skreee

Sigh. Just read that Zucca was a Nazi collaborator

Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@jentaub
Again, the museum that holds this autochrome does not attribute it to Zucca and says it was taken circa 1930. See links in other comments.
@AuriBlackCat @Skreee
Show threadJeanne à véloNov 25, 2022

@AuriBlackCat
According to Nicéphore Niépce Museum's website, the picture was taken c. 1930 (you have to scroll down : https://www.museeniepce.com/index.php?/collections/la-vie-des-collections/Acquisitions).

The photographer remains unknown.

"They are dressed in a bold way" comments the Museum who owns this #autochrome.

@citoyen

musée Nicéphore Niépce - Acquisitions

Show threadGareth StackNov 25, 2022
@jeanneavelo @AuriBlackCat @citoyen links broken on mobile but thats more believable alright
Show threadJeanne à véloNov 25, 2022
@garethstack
Full comment:
"This autochrome has the particularity of proposing an extremely modern subject: two women, "two friends", who are not posing and are dressed in a daring manner. The haircut is modern, the outfit is free and dares to reveal the skin, the glasses become accessories; it is the time of a certain liberation of the woman, of the rise of women's fashion, of the abandonment of constraints and corsets. The woman's body emancipates itself from the bourgeois shackles."
@citoyen
Show threadHenkPoleyNov 25, 2022

@garethstack @jeanneavelo @AuriBlackCat @citoyen

It is "Autochrome, Anonyme, Paris, vers 1930" on that page.

Show threadmenschenfreundNov 25, 2022

@garethstack

If you are in fedilab, the latest update might fix the link issues.

Show threadLes TombéNov 26, 2022
@jeanneavelo @AuriBlackCat @citoyen Thanks for that link to such a GREAT site.
Show threadAndrea CasalottiNov 25, 2022

@AuriBlackCat @citoyen

According to this commenter on Reddit, it was taken in 1940. The photographer Zucca bacame a Nazi collaborator

https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/6bxr3w/parisian_women_taken_by_french_photographer_andre/

Parisian Women - taken by French photographer Andre Zucca with rare Agfacolor film (1940s)

Posted in r/OldSchoolCool by u/paternalpadfoot • 83 points and 4 comments

reddit
Show threadWesDymJan 22, 2023
@acasalotti "According to this commenter on reddit"
Show threadMNGeek 🏳️‍🌈Nov 25, 2022
@citoyen Great photo for so many reasons--the social history AND the history of photography.
Show threadkimNov 25, 2022

@citoyen

I love them! I love that cap and looking at that see through purple top I think I have a pattern like that so could create something similar. Whether I should or not is a different matter 😊

Show thread@dlenaresNov 25, 2022
@erwhatdidyousay @citoyen you absolutely should! 
Show threadkimNov 25, 2022

@Dlenares @citoyen

Lol I already made a pair of blue velour flares this year. Its definitely not what someone in their 60s is meant to wear, but I don't care. I'm tempted, I've got some pink chiffon that would be perfect. I'm thinking of Bishop or Bell sleeves though. Choices choices!

Anyway I've got to make a top to go with my flares first 😊

Show threadJeanne à véloNov 25, 2022

@citoyen
Gorgeous picture indeed! 🤩

It's no surprise we call the 1920's "les Années folles" in France (and in French!). Here we encounter two liberated women.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann%C3%A9es_folles

Années folles — Wikipédia

Show threaduoouNov 25, 2022

@citoyen

Hate to do this because it is a lovely image, but there is a sinister edge. The photo was likely taken around 1942, during the occupation. And, from Wikipedia:

In 1941, he was contracted by the occupying Germans to work as a photographer and correspondent for the magazine Signal, a propaganda organ of the German Wehrmacht. His photography was used to support a positive image of the German occupation in France

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Zucca

André Zucca - Wikipedia

Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Nov 25, 2022
@citoyen @uoou it’s good to share the real history. It is beautiful, but it is also a reminder of how messy history is and how the narratives we have about the past can sometimes not conform to the aesthetics we expect. Thanks for linking!
Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@uoou Thanks for the link, however the Musée Nicéphore Niepce which has the piece is listing it as "Anonymous, taken in the 1930s". The wikipedia article does however feature women with similar glasses...
Show threaduoouNov 25, 2022
@citoyen Oh that's interesting. I've seen it elsewhere credited to Zucca but nowhere definitive. Is does very much share a feel with those images of his though, yeah.
Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@uoou source, anyway: https://www.museeniepce.com/index.php?/collections/la-vie-des-collections/Acquisitions
musée Nicéphore Niépce - Acquisitions

Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@uoou Someone provided a link https://glamourdaze.com/2013/12/color-photos-of-parisian-women-1930s-and-1940s.html mentioning it being taken by Jules Richard in the 1930s.
Color Photos of Parisian Women - 1930s and 1940s

A selection of Parisian women from a recently published selection of photos - taken by French photographer Andre Zucca. Though not a card carrying Nazi, he was quite happy to sell his photos taken with

Glamour Daze
Show threaduoouNov 25, 2022

@citoyen Even more interesting. So Jules Richard died in 1930 and the photo doesn't share an aesthetic with his other work. And I would *think* fashion in 1930 Paris and 1942ish Paris would be at least noticeably different.

I'd love to get a definitive answer on this!

Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@uoou english link to the museum: https://en.museeniepce.com/index.php?/collections/la-vie-des-collections/Acquisitions
musée Nicéphore Niépce - Acquisitions

Show threadSam ​Nov 25, 2022
@uoou @citoyen The weird thing is that the women in the photograph apparently from the 1930s and the women from the 1942 both wear white-rimmed sunglasses I had never seen before. I was sure that meant that Zucco had both taken the photos and during the same year. But then I googled "white sunglasses 1940" and that kind of frame was apparently quite common, so there went my theory!
Show threadAnna PanekNov 25, 2022

@uoou @citoyen

with this image?
not easy. was her mutterkreuz supposed to dangle around the belly button?

I mean even if you had certain elites breaking out from the expectation of the role women were supposed to fulfil (as mothers, cooks and kindergardners) to play with a maitresse, earlier or later a German wife would spot this picture and pull out her wooden cooking spoon.

while I am old but not this old and was not there, this is hard to imagine.

Show threadwas B (this is my old account)Nov 25, 2022
@citoyen according to these websites, this photo may have been taken during the Nazi occupation as part of a propaganda effort
https://glamourdaze.com/2013/12/color-photos-of-parisian-women-1930s-and-1940s.html
https://measure-ojs-shsu.tdl.org/measure/article/download/31/27
Color Photos of Parisian Women - 1930s and 1940s

A selection of Parisian women from a recently published selection of photos - taken by French photographer Andre Zucca. Though not a card carrying Nazi, he was quite happy to sell his photos taken with

Glamour Daze
Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@b_cavello Your first link says "The first snap however was taken by Jules Richard of two women in Paris just before the Nazi invasion in the early 1930s! These women are quite daring in their fashion! Image recently discovered and held by Musee Nicephore Niepce"
Show threadonepoint618Dec 1, 2022
@b_cavello @citoyen According to that link, - although it is about Zucca's photos, it specifies that the photographer of this photo was Jules Richard.
Show threadCitoyen MRDec 1, 2022
@onepoint618 @b_cavello To be fair I don't think this is accurate either. The museum site says the autochrome is from an unknown photograph, and also mentions it has the Jules Richard collection of autochromes; but does not imply this specific autochrome is part of it.
Show threadGareth StackNov 25, 2022
@citoyen absolutely love this
Show threadRalf OltmannsNov 25, 2022
@citoyen They are beautiful and look relaxed and happy.
Show threadSylvain MAILLERNov 25, 2022
@citoyen Super photo, est-ce qu'on connaît la date et l'auteur ?
Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@s_mailler -> https://www.museeniepce.com/index.php?/collections/la-vie-des-collections/Acquisitions
Certains disent dans les commentaires qu'il s'agit de Zucca, pendant l'occupation, mais ce n'est pas ce que dit le musée Niepce.
musée Nicéphore Niépce - Acquisitions

Show threadSylvain MAILLERNov 25, 2022
@citoyen "Autochrome, Anonyme, Paris, vers 1930", effectivement. Il y a une longue et intéressante description de la photo aussi (enfin, de l'autochrome, pardon...)
Show threadSusannNov 25, 2022
@citoyen Absolutely beautiful!!! The photo itself and its subjects. So timeless!!
Show threadKathryn MathiasNov 26, 2022
@Susann_Susannanana @citoyen I agree the photo is beautiful. I notice that your profile pic is by an artist that I like, Susann. Here's a link to their website. Have you credited the artist on your profile? https://linktr.ee/Purrinink
Purrinink | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Linktree. Make your link do more.

Linktree
Show threadSusannNov 26, 2022
@kathrynmathias @citoyen I did now. Never knew the artists name. I’ll be replacing the pic when I have a chance, as to not upset the artist
Show threadDanielNov 25, 2022
@citoyen Probably it looks quite modern because fashions are cyclical.
Show threadMark KruegerNov 25, 2022

@citoyen Thanks for sharing; this is so cool I wanted to learn more about the photo. Here is information from where it is currently archived:

https://en.museeniepce.com/index.php?/collections/la-vie-des-collections/Acquisitions

musée Nicéphore Niépce - Acquisitions

Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@markkrueg thanks for the english link
Show threadFerrousNov 25, 2022
@citoyen @markkrueg I'm confused - when I follow the link I get a page in French that doesn't seem to have this photo?
Show threadFerrousNov 25, 2022

@citoyen @markkrueg when I hunt for the photo using Google Lens I get this post captioned "Very rare color photographs of Parisian women in the 1930s taken by Jules Richard and Andre Zucca".

One of them, with sunglasses that match the ones here, also appears on a couple of other sites credited to André Zucca...

https://twitter.com/CultureTrip/status/723044904998412288?t=jNc_76H6ey3_EatDiIDEMw&s=19

Culture Trip on Twitter

“Very rare color photographs of Parisian women in the 1930s taken by Jules Richard and Andre Zucca.”

Twitter
Show threadWesDymJan 22, 2023
@ferrous Please do not link Twitter. Don't feed the beast.
Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@ferrous @markkrueg the link is an english language page talking about the museum's acquisition of the anonymous autochrome.
Show threadFerrousNov 25, 2022
@citoyen @markkrueg the page I'm seeing looks like this...?
Show threadSDNov 26, 2022
@ferrous @citoyen @markkrueg me too, must be the mobile site whooshing us away from a link that probably works on desktop browsers
Show threadMark KruegerNov 25, 2022

@citoyen @ferrous Yes, I am sometimes seeing an alternate page now. The link seems be be a bit unstable. Here is an archive just in case it happens again:

https://web.archive.org/web/20221012225522/https://en.museeniepce.com/index.php?/collections/la-vie-des-collections/Acquisitions

musée Nicéphore Niépce - Acquisitions

Show threadJeffrey LieberNov 25, 2022
@citoyen My daughter -- photo student at NYU -- was amazed by the image. Do you have a link to the original citation about the details?
Show threadCitoyen MRNov 25, 2022
@JeffLieber -> https://en.museeniepce.com/index.php?/collections/la-vie-des-collections/Acquisitions
musée Nicéphore Niépce - Acquisitions

Show threadJeffrey LieberNov 25, 2022
@citoyen Thank you!
Show threadDr Richard ErskineNov 25, 2022
@citoyen who was the photographer (I don't see a credit) and where was it originally published?
Show threadDr Richard ErskineNov 25, 2022

@citoyen A few minutes googling turned up the answer, this snap "… was taken by Jules Richard of two women in Paris just before the Nazi invasion in the early 1930s! These women are quite daring in their fashion! Image recently discovered and held by Musee Nicephore Niepce"

https://glamourdaze.com/2013/12/color-photos-of-parisian-women-1930s-and-1940s.html

https://en.museeniepce.com

Color Photos of Parisian Women - 1930s and 1940s

A selection of Parisian women from a recently published selection of photos - taken by French photographer Andre Zucca. Though not a card carrying Nazi, he was quite happy to sell his photos taken with

Glamour Daze