Photo : Ville de Paris/bibliothèque Forney
Art crafts in the photographs of François Kollar
Step back in time to 1930s France through an evocative outdoor gallery tucked away in a quiet neighborhood square. These striking portraits honor the masters of craftsmanship, celebrating every fold of fabric and stroke of a tool with authentic, human detail. It is a brilliant way to spend an afternoon admiring the intersection of industrial history and true artistry.
Jardin Monica Vitti (de l'Hôtel de Sens) (Paris 4th)
About
From September 3 to December 5, 2026, the Monica Vitti Garden hosts an open-air exhibition featuring the photography of François Kollar. Through a selection of large-format prints from the Forney Library archives, discover the daily lives of artisans as captured in 1931. This documentary project, derived from the book La France travaille, highlights the technical expertise and craftsmanship behind various trades, from initial sketches to finished creations. This free event, located in the heart of the 4th arrondissement, offers a unique opportunity to observe the precise movements of engravers, ceramicists, textile creators, and fashion designers immortalized by the artist's lens.
From September 3 to December 5, 2026, the Forney Library is organizing an exhibition in the Monica Vitti Garden (formerly the Hôtel de Sens Garden), located next to the library. This outdoor exhibition features around twenty enlargements of photographs by François Kollar (1904-1979), commissioned in 1931 by the publisher Horizons de France and published in a work titled La France travaille.
The result is a documentary work of great value and undoubtedly unique in France, but also a series of portraits of men and women, presented with sensitivity and respect. More than 1,800 original prints and nearly 2,000 negatives, published or unpublished, were donated in 1975 by Pierre Lagrange, director of Horizons de France, to the Forney Library.
The exhibition focuses on the creative process in the art crafts, starting from a common point—drawing—all the way to the final realization, whether manual or mechanical. The most classic example is provided in the graphic arts by the engraver (wood, copper) and the lithographer, whose work allows for the dissemination of the original piece. Three other worlds are presented under the heading of applied arts: ceramic decoration, textile creation using various techniques (weaving, printing, tapestry, embroidery), and finally, haute couture.
Our take on this event
The Forney Library invites you to explore the world of fine crafts within the grounds of the Monica Vitti Garden, near the Hôtel de Sens. This free outdoor exhibition runs from September 3 to December 5, 2026, and showcases around twenty photographs taken by François Kollar in 1931 for the publication La France travaille.
This exceptional collection, donated by Pierre Lagrange in 1975, emphasizes the human dimension of creative processes. The display follows the evolution of an object from its conceptual drawing through to its manual or mechanical execution. The exhibition is organized around several key sectors, including graphic arts like engraving and lithography, ceramics, textile techniques such as weaving and embroidery, as well as the intricate work of haute couture.
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