In connection with the history of La Salpêtrière Hospital, OFFSCREEN unveils a rare selection of photographic prints from a collection of 47 plates produced by Albert Londe in 1893 during Dr. Charcot’s sessions.
This collection, presented in collaboration with the Baudoin Lebon Gallery, examines a pivotal moment when photography claimed to reveal clinical truth, while contributing to the spectacular construction of hysteria.
Created in 1882, the Salpêtrière Photographic Service was a pioneer in the use of medical photography, capturing the fleeting symptoms of hysteria, epilepsy and states of crisis with unprecedented precision. The photographs on display, at the crossroads of art, science and power, also bear witness to a controversial staging, Jean-Martin Charcot’s famous ‘Tuesday lectures’ having been described as « veritable spectacles ».
In 1882, Albert Londe developed a device that made it possible to photograph patients’ movements using a nine-lens camera; this technique allowed him to systematically time the release of the shutters to capture the successive phases of a movement (chronography). He later invented a twelve-lens camera that further increased the precision of his work. Albert Londe developed these techniques to document the symptoms of patients suffering from epilepsy, hysteria, or other neurological disorders studied by Charcot.
OFFSCREEN PARIS – 4th edition
October 21-26, 2025
La Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière
Entrance via Square Marie-Curie
47 Boulevard de l’Hopital
75013 Paris
www.offscreenparis.com
@OFFSCREEN_Paris
