Photo : Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac
Seeing Tahiti. The First Photographs 1859-1870
Transport yourself to the 19th-century Pacific through a collection of rare, intimate photographs recently unveiled from private collections. These pioneer images capture Polynesian royalty and lush island landscapes with a modern gaze, offering a hauntingly beautiful window into an era few have ever seen.
Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac (Paris 7th)
About
Explore the dawn of photography in Polynesia at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. This exhibition features rare images captured between 1859 and 1870 by naval officers Gustave Viaud and Paul Émile Miot. From tropical landscapes to intimate portraits of the royal family, these previously unseen works provide a unique visual record of Tahiti and the Marquesas before mass photography arrived in the region. Suitable for all visitors, the exhibition is open from October 2, 2026, to January 31, 2027, with ticket prices ranging from 0 to 14 euros.
In 2023, the museum acquired an exceptional collection of photographs, the first images taken in French Polynesia between 1859 and 1870. They are the work of two naval officers, Gustave Viaud and Paul Émile Miot, whose complementary approaches offer a rare testimony of a territory that was still very little photographed at the time.
Gustave Viaud's paper negatives, produced between 1859 and 1862, constitute an unpublished corpus, long kept by the Loti Viaud family and then by a private collector. As the older brother of Pierre Loti, Viaud played a major role in the writer's taste for the elsewhere, but he was also a discreet pioneer of photography. Settled in Tahiti as a naval surgeon, he quickly experimented with this new medium. His images, between controlled landscapes, familiar topographical scenes, and subtle effects of the wind on vegetation, reveal a true sense of composition. In 1859, he also produced a remarkable portrait of Teriimaevarua II, Queen of Bora Bora.
Ten years later, Paul Émile Miot, an officer already recognized as an accomplished photographer, stayed in Tahiti and the Marquesas. Using the collodion glass negative, he captured coasts, landscapes, and faces of Polynesian society, notably the royal family. His precise, almost modern gaze gives his compositions a singular strength.
Combined, these two series make up a striking visual material, predating the massive development of photography in these archipelagos. The exhibition aims to highlight the graphic beauty of the negatives, while presenting enlargements, positives, and vintage prints. Viaud's images, which have remained almost entirely unpublished, and Miot's, never shown in a dedicated exhibition until now, dialogue for the first time in the same exhibition path.
Our take on this event
The Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac hosts a display of exceptional photographs documenting French Polynesia between 1859 and 1870. The exhibition highlights the work of two pioneering naval officers, Gustave Viaud and Paul Émile Miot, whose complementary perspectives offer a rare glimpse into the islands during the mid-19th century. Viaud’s paper negatives, produced between 1859 and 1862, capture the subtlety of Polynesian landscapes and historical figures like the Queen of Bora Bora. A decade later, Miot utilized collodion glass negatives to document the society and coastal geography of Tahiti and the Marquesas with modern precision.
By showcasing enlarged prints and historical photographs, the exhibition invites visitors to appreciate the graphic beauty of these long-hidden archives. This is the first time these two collections have been brought together in a dedicated exhibition. The venue welcomes visitors from October 2, 2026, to January 31, 2027. Operating hours are 10:30 to 19:00, Tuesday through Sunday, including Thursdays. Admission fees are available from 0 to 14 euros.
23°C
Weather forecast
Light rain
max +23 °Cmin +15 °C
