Italian photographer Paolo Ventura has been commissioned to create a new photographic series for the 2025 edition of Photo Days at the historic Balzac Rotonda in Paris. The exhibition, titled "Promenades de nuit" (Night Walks), draws inspiration from the life and work of celebrated French writer Honoré de Balzac, presenting a dreamlike vision of nighttime Paris through Ventura's distinctive artistic lens.
Since 2020, Photo Days has annually granted an artist complete creative freedom to develop new works specifically for the Rotonda Balzac, a historically significant venue. For this year's project, Ventura conducted extensive research into Balzac's life and literary legacy, using the writer's experiences in Paris as the foundation for his photographic narrative. The resulting series presents an intimate dialogue between fiction, memory, and architecture within the rotunda's historically preserved setting.
Ventura's creative process begins with writing stories, which then inform his photographic compositions that blur the boundaries between dream and reality. His images reimagine Paris as a melancholy, timeless city filled with deserted alleyways and mysterious figures glimpsed under streetlamps. The scenes in Night Walks evoke an atmosphere of solitude, nostalgia, and otherworldly strangeness that resonates deeply with Balzac's literary universe, which similarly featured secretive characters, complex human lives, and dramatic chiaroscuro narratives.
The exhibition takes place within the walls of the Balzac Rotonda, an officially listed architectural gem located in the gardens of the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild. This preserved space was originally conceived as a tribute to literature and has been opened by the Fondation des Artistes to contemporary artistic creation. Within this unique venue, the historic décor serves as a theatrical stage, transforming photography into a visual novel that brings new life to the preserved environment.
The Balzac Rotonda itself carries significant historical importance, having been built by Baroness Adèle de Rothschild specifically to honor the memory of the famous writer. The rotunda has been maintained exactly according to the Baroness's final wishes and features exquisite chinoiserie-style paneling and Japanese silk hangings that were embroidered in Kyoto during the 19th century. This richly intimate period décor provides an exceptional backdrop for contemporary photographic works.
Following a complete restoration in 2020, the rotunda is now accessible to the public, offering visitors the unique opportunity to experience cutting-edge photography within an extraordinary historical setting. The collaboration between Photo Days and the Fondation des Artistes represents an ongoing commitment to presenting exclusive commissioned works that are designed specifically for this remarkable venue.
The Paolo Ventura exhibition "Night Walks" runs from November 5-29 at the Rotonde Balzac, located at the Fondation des Artistes in the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild at 11 rue Berryer in Paris's 8th arrondissement. Visits are available by appointment only, Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-12pm and 2pm-6pm. Additional information can be found at photodays.paris.
