Janine Niepce

Polka Gallery is pleased to present an unprecedented selection of images from the archive of Janine Niépce, one of the first French women to work as a photojournalist after the Second World War.

Following the 2019 retrospective that presented her most iconic photographs, Polka wishes to once again pay tribute to this talented humanist photographer. Like her male peers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau or Willy Ronis, Niépce bore witness to and documented the inner working of French society over the course of the second part of the twentieth century; its roots, its history and geography, its development trajectories, its central figures and its fractures.

Contraception, equal pay, daily life during the French civil rights movement... All the aspects of the struggles for women's rights in France have considerably nourished Niépce’s work and research. "When men photograph women, what fascinates them are their bodies, their beauty and, sometimes, even their ugliness — it’s a fad. In short, they are always creating women-objects. I photograph women in their complete trajectory, from childhood to old age and in all walks of life”, Niépce wrote.

The exhibition "Au bonheur des dames” or “To the Ladies” pays tribute to those women, whose elegance she has illuminated, exploring the world of fashion and its transformations over the latter decades of the twentieth century. The artist’s curious eye was caught by those who defined and shaped the pride and glory of the greatest fashion houses of their era and contributed to their influence throughout the world: the women in the workshops, on the stage or behind the scenes. Dior, Guerlain, Chanel, Lanvin. In the heart of the "Trente Glorieuses” era between 1945 and 1975, Niépce penetrated behind the locked doors of the fashion ateliers of rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and the Champs-Elysées, opening them just for a moment. The photographers’ privilege, she writes, "is to be able to traverse closed doors”. And that is where we find her — where the magic happens, far from the public eye.

“In winter, the elegant ladies wore fur coats that were fitted and cut in such a unique manner, that one could immediately recognize each designer's signature. In the summer, printed dresses made of Lyon silk, combined in rare color harmonies, impeccably made-up faces, protected by flowery capelines illuminated the grey-blue city after sunset. Fragrance trails accompanied these beautiful passers-by. Chanel's N°5 or Guerlain's Chant d'Arômes. To decipher and to recognize them was a magcial feeling. The proportions, the balance, the refinement, the purity of the lines of the French creations embodied a rare harmony.”

This summer, Polka pays tribute to Janine Niépce through a selection of 23 images, including never before seen vintage prints and unique large formats, made during the artist's lifetime. A unique opportunity to enter the memories and the backstage of one of the universes she traversed over the course of her career with such incredible elegance.