Pierre Jahan

photographer

French^[1] b. 9 September 1909, Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, France^[1,2,3] d. 21 February 2003, Paris, France^[1,2] active 1933–2003

Pierre Jahan (1909–2003) was a French photographer and illustrator who established himself in Paris in 1933. He became known for his diverse photographic style, which oscillated between realistic photojournalism, advertising, humanist photography, and surrealist fantasy. During the German occupation of France, he captured significant images of Parisian statues that had been dismantled by the Nazis. These photographs inspired Jean Cocteau to collaborate with him on the 1946 publication 'La Mort et les Statues'. Jahan's work is characterized by an independent spirit and a fascination with the play of light and shadow.^[1,2,3,4,5]

• Parisian nightscapes
• surrealism
• humanist photography
• war destruction