“Brazilian Photographic Archives at the BnF” presents works by Vik Muniz, Claudia Andujar, Bob Wolfenson and Rosangela Rennó at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
Since 2019, the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) has been enriching its photographic collections through a collection that testifies to the diversity, rigor and talent of contemporary Brazilian photographers.
“A Brazilian photographic collection at the BnF”, started in 2019 under the leadership of Denise Zanet, Brazilian entrepreneur living in France for more than 30 years, brings together today more than 60 photographers and 727 photographs, it is thus one of the largest public collections outside Brazil.
Its integration into the major institution that is the BnF, under the curatorship of Héloïse Conesa, Heritage Curator, in charge of the contemporary photography collection in the Department of Prints and Photography of the BnF, and the Brazilian curator Marly Porto since 2022, is a strong gesture for Brazilian photography. It aims to highlight the multiple aspects of a country with the dimensions of a continent: geographic immensity, environmental issues, ecology, history and the rereading of history, decolonization, racial mixing, communities on the margins, but also the broader techniques and processes of photography. For Marly Porto, this collection works so that Brazilian photographers increasingly occupy their place on the international artistic scene.
The collection of photographs of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is the result of a long history which began with the birth of the first photographic processes. Today, it has around 10 million images from more than 15,000 photographers, from the mid-19th century, and representing the full diversity of photography: from the pioneers of the 19th century (Niépce, Nadar, Le Gray, Disdéri, Atget…) to photojournalists (Robert Capa, Gilles Caron, Marc Riboud, Annette Léna, Jean-Philippe Charbonnier, Henri Cartier-Bresson, René Burri, Raymond Depardon, Martine Franck, Gilles Peress), to fashion (Guy Bourdin, Helmut Newton), portraits (Isabelle Waternaux, Florence Chevallier), landscapes (DATAR photographic mission, Thibaut Cuisset) . The institution already had numerous authors from Brazil in its archives (Boris Kossoy, Sebastião Salgado, Miguel Rio Branco, Nair Benedicto, Regina Vater, Cássio Vasconcellos, Carlos Freire…).
This fund has been considerably enriched over the last five years through the patronage of Denise Zanet. It presents a complete period of national history from the 1970s to the present. Comprised of a body of work by renowned Brazilian photographers such as Bob Wolfenson, Cristiano Mascaro, Mario Cravo Neto (1947-2009), Rogério Reis, Rosângela Rennó, Vik Muniz and Claudia Jaguaribe, and emerging talents such as Rogério Vieira, Luiz Baltar, Tanara Stuermer and Roberta Sant’Anna.
“It is one of the largest public collections of Brazilian photography outside Brazil, not only by the quantity, but above all by the uniqueness of the selection of images, whose criteria involve the geographical and historical scope, the relevance of the essay, the aesthetic relevance of the artist’s work, thematic diversity, among others”, underlines Marly Porto, curator since 2022 following Ricardo Fernandes.
The themes covered are extremely varied. Photographs of marginal populations represented by images of indigenous peoples (Valdir Zwetsch and Ana Mendes), Afro communities (Júlio Bittencourt e Robério Braga), gender (Rosa Gauditano and Élle de Bernardini) and populations living in poverty or at the outskirts of large cities (Luiz Baltar); images that promote critical reflection on society (Marcos Prado and Márcio Vasconcellos), politics (Yan Boechat) and environment (Raphael Alves) issues; the beauty of Brazilian nature in the author’s production of Ricardo de Vicq, Claudio Edinger and Roberto Linsker; actions related to the areas of image research, historicity, community experiences, preservation of oral and visual memory, photographs are by João Mendes and Afonso Pimenta (Retratistas do Morro). While rereadings of works like that of German-Brazilian photographer Alberto Henschel can be seen in Fernando Banzi’s essay, in which he brings new colors, layers and textures by reinterpreting the historical and structural issue linked to the black Brazilian population. Photographic processes, such as those presented in the works of Cris Bierrenbach and Bianca da Costa, also join the collection and demonstrate the power and creativity of contemporary Brazilian photography.
Each work is a window into deep and complex narratives, captured through skillful lenses that convey both documentation and artistic expression. Through this initiative, the BnF aims not only to preserve the visual memory of Brazil, but also to encourage international dialogue on essential issues such as identity, the environment and social justice.
The acquisition process is coupled with a creative action with the opening in 2024 of the first residence for Brazilian photographers in France co-built by the Alliance française of Brazil, the BnF, and Initial LABO, as well as the support of major institutions: Institut de France, Cité Internationale des Arts, Air France and Réseau Diagonal. Caio Rosa is the first winner to benefit from this €6,000 grant which provides logistical support and entry into the “A Brazilian Photographic Fund” collection.
Photographers who are part of the collection “A Brazilian photographic collection at the BnF”:
ALVES Raphael; ANDUJAR Claudia; ARANTES Carolina; BALTAR Luiz; BANZI Fernando; BASSUL José Roberto; BERNARDINI Élle de; BIERRENBACH Cris; BITTENCOURT Júlio; BOECHAT Yan; BRAGA Robério; CASTILHO João; CERQUEIRA Lita; CHARNIZON Márcia; COLUCCI Maristela; CRAVO NETO Mario; DACOSTA Bianca; DASS Angélica; DINIZ José; EDINGER Claudio; EICHENBERGER Andrea; FELINTO Renata; FITIPALDI Felipe; GAUDITANO Rosa; GOMES Alair; HAMBURGER Feco; JAGUARIBE Claudia; LENCI Lucas; LIBERTI Fernanda; LIMA Elza; LINSKER Roberto; MARTINS Gisele; MASCARO Cristiano; MEDEIROS Isis; MELZI Livia; MENDES Ana; MOREIRA Antonio Sérgio; MUNIZ Vik; MUSSI Ana Vitória; NUNES Giovana Schulter; PENTEADO André; PINHEIRO Pablo; POCZTARUK Romy; PRADO Marcos; REIS Rogério; RENNÓ Rosângela; RETRATISTAS DO MORRO; RICARDI Lula; ROSA Caio; RUARO Ale; SABIÁ Ana; SANT’ANNA Roberta; SEQUEIRA Alexandre; SICOLI Juliana; STUERMER Tanara; VASCONCELLOS Márcio; VIANA Gê; VICQ Ricardo de; XAVIER Cristiano; ZWETSCH Valdir e WOLFENSON Bob.
