The Abbaye de Flaran in France is presenting a previously unseen collection of photographs by renowned French photographer Jean Dieuzaide, featuring his 1955 journey to Turkey with his wife Jacqueline. This exhibition marks the sixteenth edition of "La profondeur des champs" (Depth of Fields), an annual initiative exploring rural life organized by the Conservation Départementale des Musées du Gers and the Centre Patrimonial de Flaran, which is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary.
The three-month trip to Turkey required significant family arrangements, as the couple entrusted their son Michel to his aunt Hélène while a family nanny cared for their daughter. This journey was part of Dieuzaide's international assignments for Éditions Arthaud, which also took him to Spain, Portugal, and Sardinia during the 1950s.
Although Jean Dieuzaide (1921-2003) was deeply rooted in his native Southwest France, particularly the Gers region, he embraced several international photography projects that showcased his humanist approach. His son Michel reflects on these travels, noting that "it was on the occasion of these different journeys that my father's humanist streak asserted itself, in which he was quickly pigeonholed, often ignoring the variety of themes he tackled and the other facets of his photographic creation at which he was just as accomplished."
The Turkey series demonstrates Dieuzaide's mastery of shadow and light composition, successfully conveying the essence of the country and the spirit of the era. His photographs captured the everyday lives of local artisans and fishermen, culminating in the creation of his emblematic backlit image titled "La chevauchée" (The Ride), featuring a team of horses. This remarkable photograph helped him become the first winner of the Prix Niépce in 1955, the same year it was created, earning recognition as the photographic equivalent of the prestigious Goncourt Prize.
Jean-Claude Lemagny, who served as Chief Curator of the Photography Department at the Bibliothèque Nationale from 1968 to 1996, praised Dieuzaide's unique approach to photography. Lemagny observed that "the photographer [is] precisely the prototype of the new artist we see emerging today – the one acting in the world among realities, and no longer the one who withdraws from the world in order to better reveal its reality." He noted that while no photographer has completely solved this artistic challenge, Dieuzaide "is the only one among the great French photographers to have fully embraced it."
The current exhibition features sixty-two black-and-white photographs that showcase Dieuzaide's undeniable quality, acute sense of framing, and palpable emotion. These works once again illustrate the originality of this devoted humanist photographer, whose leading role deserves recognition within the landscape of French photography. The images provide viewers with an intimate glimpse into 1950s Turkey, capturing both its Mediterranean culture and the daily lives of its inhabitants.
The photographic exhibition "La Turquie de Jean Dieuzaide" (Jean Dieuzaide's Turkey) will be displayed at the Abbaye de Flaran in the Gers department, specifically in the logis abbatial (abbey lodge), as part of the "La profondeur des champs" series. The exhibition runs from October 11, 2025, to March 22, 2026, and will be accompanied by an annual catalogue featuring all the photographs. Additional information is available at https://www.patrimoine-musees-gers.fr/le-reseau/abbaye-de-flaran/.
