Estelle Lagarde shot her photograph for PHPA in November 2013 at the Hôtel du Panthéon. She explained her working methods and how she prepared for this peculiar commission. We’re also publishing a selection of images from her other series.
“I started out by researching the Pantheon. I learned about Voltaire and Rousseau, who quarrelled their entire lives, died one month apart (despite their 18-year age difference) and were ultimately buried side by side. The idea that they were brought together by death even though everything in life set them apart began to intrigue me, as did the the ways their language and modes of communication differed from our own… I had to choose the hotel’s most inspirational space for the photograph, and the black and gold room with a thousand dragons seemed like the obvious choice… I think Voltaire would have chosen this room if he had ever stayed at the hotel.”
Read the full article on the French version of L’Oeil de la Photographie.
Estelle Lagarde
