The Dieuzaides, Spain from father to son.
Had the idea already occurred to anyone? Father and son finally reunited, on the same walls and, what’s more, with the same theme: Spain. We owe that to Christian Thorel founder of the Ombres Blanches bookstore in Toulouse –. After several requests, a trial run took place in the exhibition space of the famous Toulouse bookstore, where Michel Dieuzaide finally agreed to have his images displayed alongside those of Yan.
This time, it will be on a large scale, the Musée Arts & Figures des Pyrénées Centrales in Saint-Gaudens (31) will serve as a receptacle for some 130 black and white images. In conjunction with the event, a beautiful book “Nos Espagne(s)” is published by Cairn Editions; prefaced by Jean-Paul Dubois, it brings together all the photographs. The joint presentation of the father and son a first in terms of the number of photographs – offers not only two perspectives but also two different eras. Spain under Franco, scenes of life, human encounters and villages with austere buildings for Jean. For Michel, a country that now lives in democracy, a more personal point of view and visual writing. However, it is the same light that sculpts these landscapes, combining composition and poetry. Both avoid clichés, while giving us back this country with a warm soul and obvious black and white photogenicity. Meeting with Michel.
Jean-Jacques Ader: Have Christian Thorel’s repeated proposals to bring your photos together with those of your father finally convinced you?
Michel Dieuzaide: I would never have thought of doing it, never in my life… I don’t think my images are on the level of my father’s most striking images. I finally accepted for the Ombres Blanches gallery, and in the end everyone thought it was very good. It’s still interesting to see two perspectives on the same country, a generation apart, and let’s say, with a different approach to photography.
JJA: Your father first traveled to Spain for publishing assignments and thematic illustrations.
MD: Yes, that was his main job. As early as 1951, he was asked to cover Southern Spain, which was a huge success. He then left for eastern Spain, where he did his famous portrait of Dalí in the sea in Cadaqués in 1953. Turkey, Sardinia, Portugal, and so on followed. As for me, I grew up surrounded by Spanish friends, and in 1969, when I was finally old enough, my father took me with him to work as an assistant on Gothic Art for two months; it was my first contact with Spain. I returned several times, of course, but for the pleasure of it, I was captivated. Carlos Pradal and his family, with whom I was very close, introduced me to Hispanic culture.
JJA: Looking back at Jean’s photos, we realize that he didn’t just photograph heritage or people; he was also an experimenter, a technical jack-of-all-trades, which wasn’t your case.
MD: Absolutely, and for the simple reason that I tried as quickly as possible to no longer be “the son of…” That’s why I made films, to find an identity for myself where he didn’t exist, so I made documentaries.
JJA: And you didn’t have the same interests or affinities for Spain as your father.
MD: That’s true; I did write this book on Andalusia in 1985 with Michel del Castillo, “Nos Andalousies” for which I was commissioned (in color, of course), but I had carte blanche to do pretty much what I wanted. My father had an incredible list of places and monuments to photograph. The images of the people he met, or let’s say humanists, he took on his own initiative.
JJA: Does the book “Our Spain(s),” published by Cairn Editions, include all the photos included in the exhibition?
MD: Yes, of course; I think there will even be a few more in the book. It was actually presented on the opening day of the exhibition in Saint-Gaudens.
Jean-Jacques Ader
Exhibition “L’Espagne des Dieuzaide” by Jean and Michel Dieuzaide, at the Musée Arts & Figures des Pyrénées Centrales, 35 boulevard Jean-Bepmale in Saint-Gaudens, from June 4 to December 31, 2025 (free admission)
Information: https://www.stgo.fr/?page_id=14405
Publication of a beautiful book “Nos Espagne(s)” by Cairn Editions, with a preface by Jean-Paul Dubois.
