Vine and the Wine in Fine Art Photography

A SET TABLE (STILL LIFE) Nicéphore Niépce, 1823/25 or 1832?, physautotype, 7 x 11.7 cm, missing work - Niépce Museum, Chalon-sur-Saône, FR / 1

CIRCE - Julia Margaret Cameron, 1865 Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative, 25.3 x 20.1 cm - Victoria and Albert Museum, London / 2

THE SECOND BIRTH OF DIONYSUS George Platt Lynes, 1939, gelatin silver print, 24 x 19.2 cm - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / 3

UNTITLED #224, History portraits / Old masters Cindy Sherman, 1990, chromogenic color print, 121.9 x 96.5 cm - MoMA, New York / 4

KIKI DRINKING Man Ray, 1922, gelatin silver print, 23.9 x 17.8 cm - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / 5

THE UNKNOWN WOMAN WITH THE GLASS OF WINE Man Ray, ca. 1930, gelatin silver print, 7.9 x 4.9 cm - Pompidou Center, Paris

QUAY DU LOUVRE Autochrome photography, 1918 - Albert Khan Museum, Boulogne-Billancourt, France / 7

QUAI St BERNARD, PARIS Henri-Cartier Bresson, 1932, gelatin silver print, 23,4 x 34,8 cm - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / 8

LAVAUX VINEYARD TERRACES S IN WINTER [near Lausanne, Switzerland] Emile Gos, 1933 / 9

WINE, A NATURAL SUBJECT FOR NIÉPCE

1. Although the ‘inventor’ of photography, Nicéphore Niépce only took two photographs himself. Some believe La Table servie to have been the first of these (1823-5); recently, however, it has been argued that the image may in fact have been his second work (1832-3). The plate was lost among the collections of the Société Française de Photographie at the start of the 20th century.

What could have been a more natural subject for Niépce’s still life than a table set with wine? Like many painters of the period, he photographed the things he saw around him. This is true of Point de vue du Gras (1927), a photograph taken from the window of his house in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, near Chalon-sur-Saône. Aside from the fact that drinking wine at the table was an everyday activity in the 19th century, it is worth remembering that Niépce came from Burgundy!

WITH CIRCE, PRAMNIAN WINE BECOMES A WICKED POTION

2. Julia Margaret Cameron is known for portraits of celebrities of her era. However, she also created photographic illustrations inspired by the English Pre-Raphaelites. She spent time with Dante Gabriel Rosetti, one of the founders of the movement. Pre-Raphaelite women tend to be represented either as redeeming angels or dangerous seductresses; their value in such paintings tends to be symbolic and rooted in Bible stories or mythology. This photograph is a study for a portrait of the goddess Circe (known to the Greeks as Demeter). The young girl has long, loose hair – a feature of many Pre-Raphaelite women. Nor is it rare for such female figures to be crowned with laurel leaves, flowers or stars. But why is Circe crowned with bunches of grapes here?

The fruit is meant to remind the viewer of the episode in Homer’s Odyssey, where Circe offers a potion, laced with Pramnian* wine, to Ulysses’ shipmates; the drink transforms the crew into pigs, trapping them on the island of Aeaea: “She brought them in and made them sit on chairs and seats, and made for them a potion of cheese and barley meal and yellow honey with Pramnian wine; but in the food she mixed baneful drugs, that they might utterly forget their native land. Now when she had given them the potion, and they had drunk it off, then she presently smote them with her wand, and penned them in the sties. And they had the heads, and voice, and bristles, and shape of swine, but their minds remained unchanged even as before. So they were penned there weeping, and before them Circe flung mast and acorns, and the fruit of the cornel tree, to eat, such things as wallowing swine are wont to feed upon.” (The Odyssey, Book 10, ll. 230-43). Circe lives on a deserted island, in a forest of wild beasts who seem domesticated. These animals are, of course, men that she has transformed with the help of her wine-based potion. Thus she changes Ulysses’ crew into pigs when they arrive on her island. Eurylochus is the only one of the party to escape the spell.

Hermes had given Ulysses a magic plant – the holy ‘moly’ – which has black roots and milky white flowers. Ulysses uses the herb to resist Circe’s magic, then pulls out his sword; frightened, Circe invites the hero into her bed. Still mindful of Hermes’ warnings, Ulysses makes the witch swear ‘by the Gods’ not to harm him. This done, the pair unite and Circe undoes the spell, giving Ulysses’ shipmates back their human appearance. A year goes by before Circe helps the crew to leave the island, advising them to visit Tiresias in the Underworld.

We can add to these explanations, given in Homer’s original text, by noting that Pramnian wine is produced on the hillsides of the mountain of the same name, situated on the island of Icaria in the Aegean Sea, not far from Samos. It is here that Zeus is said to have ‘given birth’ to Dionysus, the ‘twice-born’ (see below). Circe also shared her bed with Bacchus/Dionysus, with whom she had a son, Cornus. The pairing of these two divinities seems quite natural: together, they symbolically ensure man’s survival, one of the pair providing staple foodstuffs and the other providing wine. This being the case, it is no surprise that Julia Margaret Cameron chose this particular hairstyle for her subject!

* Pramnian wine was “a rude, austere wine, black in the shade and purple in the light. Hippocrates recommended it for hemorrhages” (Charles-Joseph Panckoucke).

DIONYSUS, THE ‘TWICE-BORN’

3. Iconography dealing directly with the ‘second birth’ of Dionysus is very limited. Dionysus is the only god to be born of a mortal mother: according to Homer, he is the son of Zeuz and Semele, the daughter of Cadmos, King of Thebes, and Harmonia. Zeus was the lover of Semele for so long that, of her own initiative or persuaded by a jealous Hera, the princess wished to see him as a god – as his lover, the pregnant Semele only ever saw Zeus in the dark.

Zeus, who had promised to carry out her wish, was forced to reveal himself. Struck by his lightning, Semele died on the spot. Zeus removed the baby from her womb, sewing it into his thigh – centre of life-force in Indo-European culture – until Dionysus came to term, ‘born from the thigh of Jupiter’. Dionysus (‘the twice-born’) is therefore twice the son of Zeus in two ways.

BACCHUS OR CHRIST?

4. This work of Caravaggio can be seen as a self-portrait of the artist as Bacchus/Christ, who is shown offering himself as a communion Eucharist – ‘Eucharist’ means ‘good flesh’ – to the libertine cardinals of Rome; he holds to his lips a bunch of golden, juicy grapes, in an admittedly sensual manner.

Crowned with ivy and dressed in an Antique-style toga which reveals a muscular shoulder, he holds the bunch of green grapes to his chest, seemingly wishing to squeeze the juice from the divine fruit. We can draw two conclusions from this: either that the Greek wine takes the guise of Eucharistic wine in order to bring ever more people to the feast; or that the wine of Christ transforms the bacchanalia into a kind of ‘universal Mass’.

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SICK BACCHUS, Caravaggio, 1593 - Oil on canvas, Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy

Cindy Sherman recreates this image, putting herself at the heart of it both as model and photographer. In this self-portrait as Bacchus, she reinterprets Caravaggio’s work. The pose, framing and light are the same, but the metamorphosis of the model’s body forces us to revisit this otherwise-familiar image. This photo accentuates the Christian character of the original work: Sherman attaches herself, body and soul, to the ‘grapes of the Lord’, which she holds ostentatiously in her hand.

Find out more: Gallery Dionysus / Bacchus, God of Wine >>

KIKI OF MONTPARNASSE

5. In his memoires, Man Ray recounts that Alice Prin, known as Kiki of Montparnasse, refused to pose for him, protesting that “photographers can only record reality”. Remembering his response to Kiki, he writes: “Not me...I photographed as I painted, transforming the subject as a painter might do. Like a painter, I idealised or deformed my subject”. During the années folles of the 1920s, society converged around art exhibitions and wild parties: the soirées of the Baroness of Oettingen, the minstrel balls featuring Youki and especially Kiki, queen of such events.

Her beauty and kindness made her the darling of penniless artists and the very essence of a ‘bohemian’. She had her break as a singer, singing on the terrace of the Rotonde and in the Jockey, a fashionable nightclub. Numerous painters used her as a model: Modigliani, Soutine, Picasso, Foujita, Derain... One of her many lovers, Man Ray immortalized her in numerous photos. People came from far and wide to see and hear her; her image was on the cover of magazines; she had everything: money, jewelry, furs and cars. The Second World War marked the end of Kiki’s golden years. The socialite was eventually reduced to palm-reading in cafes; addicted to drugs and alcohol, she died in 1953. Adding to the composition an egg and a glass of wine, here Man Ray writes a surrealist love poem to his mistress, his favorite model and the woman of his dreams – of whom only the hand and the profile are visible.

LE PORT DU LOUVRE, UN PORT DE MER EN PLEIN PARIS

7. L'actuel port du Louvre a connu de nombreux noms au fil des siècles. Ce port qui existait déjà en 1292 sous le nom « port du Louvre » débutait alors rue de l'Arbre-Sec, près du Pont-Neuf. En 1501, il est dénommé « port aux Passeurs » en raison d'un bac dont le service fut créé devant l'hôtel de Bourbon après l'effondrement du pont Notre-Dame, le 25 octobre 1499, lors d'une crue de la Seine. En 1564, il est appelé « port de Bourbon » , en raison du voisinage de l’hôtel de Bourbon, puis en 1586 « port de l'Arche-d'Autriche », en raison de la proximité de la rue d'Autriche.

Devenu ensuite « port Saint-Nicolas », c'était un « port de la mer » fort important avec un va-et-vient continuel de bateaux arrivant directement de Londres, et d'étalage de toutes les marchandises qu'on y chargeait et déchargeait journellement : tuyauteries, poteries diverses, blés, fourrages, porcelaines, pains de sucre, grosse quincaillerie, articles de Paris, barriques, .. le tout sous l'œil vigilant du service de la Douane, dont les bureaux étaient établis sur le port même, adossés au mur de soutènement du quai du Louvre. En 1905, il reprend son nom initial « port du Louvre ».

THE PARIS WINE MARKET ON THE QUAY SAINT BERNARD

8. The Paris wine market, found along the river Seine on the Quai Saint Bernard, has been the domain of the capital’s wine merchants since the mid-17th century. The Paris wine market was created by the Cardinal Mazarin and first opened its doors in 1665. Previously occupied by the monks of the Abbaye Saint-Victor, the site may have been used for growing vines for the church’s wine. The market was open to all wine merchants, including foreigners, on payment of a fee. Enjoying a better layout and better location on the Seine, the market replaced the nearby Port de la Tournelle, previously the main site of the Paris wine trade.

Parisian wine consumption began to rise from the start of the 19th century, going from 1 million hectolitres in 1800 to 3.550 in 1865. In order to deal with this trend, in 1808 city planners decided to build a new wine market, which was finally completed in 1845. However, the building had insufficient storage space and could not cope with the changes brought by the arrival of the railway. In 1869 the government decided to build new warehouses in Bercy, on the other side of the Seine. In 1905, the French parliament obliged large wine merchants to open branches on both the Bercy site and the Paris market.

Until the start of the 20th century, the two Parisian warehouses were equally important. However, the Saint Bernard market’s gradual specialization into fine wines and spirits and the extension of the Bercy site in 1910 meant that the latter soon gained precedence. In 1930, the Bercy site hosted 70 per cent of wine stock and trade, while the Saint Bernard market had the remaining 30 per cent. The traders of the Saint Bernard wine market finally moved off the site in 1964.

LAVAUX, UN VIGNOBLE QUI PLONGE DANS LE LAC LEMAN

9. Lavaux est un vignoble suisse en terrasses, situé dans le canton de Vaud, face au Lac Léman, entre Lausanne et Vevey-Montreux, avec les Alpes en arrière-plan. Il est entré au classement du patrimoine mondial de l'humanité de l'UNESCO en 2007.

Le paysage, caractérisé par ses terrasses, est également fortement structuré par ses murs (appelés localement charmurs). Depuis la fin du Moyen Âge, une forte pente exige de retenir les terres avec la fragmentation et le cloisonnement des parcelles : « Le bon Dieu a fait la pente, mais nous on a fait qu’elle serve, on a fait qu’elle tienne, on a fait qu’elle dure [...] C’est plus du naturel, c’est du fabriqué ; c’est nous, c’est fabriqué par nous, ça ne tient que grâce à nous ; ça n’est plus une pente, c’eest une construction, c’est une tour, c’est un devant de forteresse…» (Passage du poète, Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz).

THE RETURN TO BASICS, PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

10. L'emploi du cheval dans la viticulture connaît aujourd'hui un renouveau. Cette utilisation, autrefois remplacée par la mécanisation, est redécouverte pour ses nombreux avantages écologiques et agronomiques. L'un des principaux avantages du labour à cheval est le respect de la structure du sol. Contrairement aux tracteurs, les chevaux exercent une pression beaucoup moins importante sur le sol, évitant ainsi la compaction. Cette meilleure aération du sol favorise la pénétration des racines et l'activité microbienne, essentielles pour la santé de la vigne.

SPRING AT PAUL MASSON VINEYARD, SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA Ansel Adams, 1962 - Private collection / 10

OLD PARIS AND WINE WITH ATGET, "FROM DOCUMENT TO FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY"

image_atget_eugene_jean_eugene_auguste_a

Bassin de la Villette

1905/06 - Moma, New York

Port de la Mer, actuel Port du Louvre

1898 - Musée Carnavalet, Paris

Haquet, voiture à transporter des tonneaux de vin

Musée Carnavalet, Paris

Entrepôt de Bercy

1913) - Moma, New York

Entrepôts de Bercy, Halle aux vins, 12ème arr.

1903 - Musée Carnavalet, Paris

Un coin de l'entrepôt de Bercy, 12ème arr.

1913 - Musée Carnavalet, Paris

1200px-Eugène_Atget,_The_Old_School_of_M

L'Ancienne Ecole de médecine, rue de la Bûcherie

1898 - Getty, Los Angeles

Café Procope, 13 rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, 6ème arrondissement

Musée Carnavalet, Paris

Au Port Salut, cabaret, Rue des Fossés St Jacques

1903 - Musée Carnavalet, Paris

Boutique, 12 rue des Lyonnais

1914 ? - Moma, New York

18 et 20 impasse Masséna, porte d'Ivry, 13ème arr., Paris

1910 - Musée Carnavalet, Paris

Marchand de vin, boulevard Masséna

1912 - Moma, New York

Eugène_Atget,_Marchand_de_Vin,_Rue_Boyer

A l'agneau pascal, cabaret, 11 r. de Valance, 5ème arr. 1910/11 - Musée Carnavalet, Paris

A la Grappe d'or, 4 place d'Aigre, 12ème arr.

1911 - Moma, New York

Marchand de vin, rue Boyer

1910/11 - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boulevard Masséna

1912 - Moma, New York

See more: Exhibition "Eugène Atget, Wine in Vieux Paris" >>

SCENES OF DAILY LIFE WITH BRASSAÏ, BILL BRANDT AND WILLY RONIS

Kertesz Andre Cafe Homme à la jambe de bois 1927.jpg

Café, homme à la jambe de bois

André Kerteszt, 1927

Bistrot aux Halles, Paris

André Kerteszt, 1927

Brassai Pause dejeuner des vidangeurss quartier St Paul 1931.jfif

Pause déjeuner des vidangeurs, quartier Saint-Paul, Paris

Brassaï, 1931

Scène de café

Brassaï, 1932

Brassaï2 Brassaï (1899-1984) ; Deux filles dans un bar, boulevard Rochechouart, Paris 18e,

Dans un bar, bd Rochechouart, Paris 18e

Brassaï, 1932

Brassaï - La Bastoche, un bar rue de Lappe, Paris, France, 1932.jpg

Femmes avec des accroche-coeurs au bar d'un bistrot rue de Lappe, Paris 11e

Brassaï, c. 1932

Couple d'amoureux, rue Saint-Denis, Paris

Brassaï, c. 1932

La Môme Bijou au Bar de la lune, Montmartre Brassaï, 1933

Lulu de Montparnasse

Brassaï, 1933 - Collection particulière

Soirée de gala chez Maxim's

Brassaï, 1949 - MoMA, New York

Brassaï : in d'honneur au Palais des ducs, Djon (1936)

Vin d'honneur au Palais des ducs, Dijon

Brassaï, c. 1936

Bill Brandt : Le personnel est prêt à servir le dîner, nord de l'Angleterre (1936)

Ronis Willy Le Vigneron Girondin 1945 Peter Fetterman Gallery.webp

Ronis Willy Ouvriers des postes 1947 Devant le cafe Le Menilmontant alt 2.jpg

Après la fête, Londres

Bill Brandt, 1934

Le personnel est prêt à servir le dîner, nord de l'Angleterre - Bill Brandt, c. 1934, Met, NYC

Vigneron girondin, Cavignac, Gironde

Willy Ronis, 1945 - Centre Pompidou, Paris / 7

Ouvriers des Postes, devant le Café Ménilmontant - Willy Ronis, 1947

7. "Les parents de Marie-Anne, ma femme, connaissaient ce vigneron qui fabriquait un très bon vin, et lors d'une visite, j'ai trouvé qu'il avait que je l'ai photographié... L'homme est mort peu de temps après pour ne pas avoir observé le régime que lui avait prescrit son médecin : pas plus de trois litres par jour. Il en buvait sept." (Willy Ronis)

Ronis Le rendez vous des camionneurs quai des Orfevres Paris 1955.jpg

Ronis Willy Belleville Paris 19e Chez Victor Bistro guinguette 1955.jpg

Ronis Willy Café de France L Isle-sur-la-Sorgue août 1979.jpg

Le rendez-vous des camionneurs,

quai des Orfèvres, Paris, Willy Ronis , 1955

Chez Victor, bistro-guinguette, Belleville, Paris

Willy Ronis, 1955

Café de France, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Vaucluse

Willy Ronis, 1979

WITH HENRI-CARTIER BRESSON AND ROBERT DOISNEAU

Henri-Cartier Bresson : Un dimanche sur les bords de la Marne (1936-1938)

"I walked all day, my spirit tense, searching the streets for photos to grab as if red-handed.
Of all means of expression, photography is the only one which fixes a precise moment.
We play with things which disappear, and, once they have disappeared, it is impossible to make them live again.
What man builds is relatively durable, whereas each fragment of his life can be seized or lost in the space of a second.
Seizing this fraction of a second is, I think, the photographer’s most important role."

Henri-Cartier Bresson and Fondation Gianadda, Szafran Collection, 2022

Un dimanche sur les bords de la Marne

Henri-Cartier Bresson, 1936/38 - Musée d'art moderne de Paris