News Works Biography Bibliography DE / EN

Bonfils

2021-

Chromogenic color prints
Print size: 60 x 78 cm
Mounted and framed
Edition: 6 + 2 AP
Signed, dated, and numbered on the reverse

In 2021 Thomas Ruff was able to acquire repro glass negatives from the Maison Bonfils, a professional photographic studio opened in Beirut in 1864 by Félix Bonfils together with his wife Marie Lydie and his son Adrien. These negatives, almost 150 years old and mostly in poor condition, fascinated the artist as one can see very clearly in them the photographic technique of the second half of the 19th century. The photographs show ancient sites and landscapes of the Near East and were published by Bonfils in large-format albums, including the album Souvenirs d'Orient (1872), in various formats. Since it was not yet possible at that time to enlarge or reduce the print from a negative, the respective images had to be photographed again in the desired size and then a print made from this negative. In addition, the originals had been processed - the sky was masked and the title and signature were applied to the original. In this way, several negatives in different sizes were created from one motif, which could be used for the production of the albums and which were then also treated careless, since they were not the "original negatives". The artist works out these traces of aging and improper handling in the series by making new prints from the negatives. 

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News Works Biography Bibliography DE / EN

Bonfils

2021-

Chromogenic color prints
Print size: 60 x 78 cm
Mounted and framed
Edition: 6 + 2 AP
Signed, dated, and numbered on the reverse

In 2021 Thomas Ruff was able to acquire repro glass negatives from the Maison Bonfils, a professional photographic studio opened in Beirut in 1864 by Félix Bonfils together with his wife Marie Lydie and his son Adrien. These negatives, almost 150 years old and mostly in poor condition, fascinated the artist as one can see very clearly in them the photographic technique of the second half of the 19th century. The photographs show ancient sites and landscapes of the Near East and were published by Bonfils in large-format albums, including the album Souvenirs d'Orient (1872), in various formats. Since it was not yet possible at that time to enlarge or reduce the print from a negative, the respective images had to be photographed again in the desired size and then a print made from this negative. In addition, the originals had been processed - the sky was masked and the title and signature were applied to the original. In this way, several negatives in different sizes were created from one motif, which could be used for the production of the albums and which were then also treated careless, since they were not the "original negatives". The artist works out these traces of aging and improper handling in the series by making new prints from the negatives. 

Bonfils