CONTEMPORARY PHOTO COLLECTION « MA SAMARITAINE »

The idea of creating a photographic collection to provide a record of the “new” Samaritaine came about at the launch of the construction project. 

There is a strong and distinguished relationship between photography and La Samaritaine, as throughout the twentieth century, La Samaritaine’s history and imposing presence on the banks of the Seine at the foot of the Pont Neuf inspired the big names of photography at the time, such as Brassai, Edouard Boubat or Willy Ronis, who used it as an iconic backdrop for their scenes of Parisian life of the era.  Therefore when La Samaritaine was commencing her renaissance, it was important to revive the role of photography in her history by inviting a combination of young talent, together with established photographers, to interpret and document the metamorphosis of the building and the transformation of the neighbourhood. 

From 2013 to 2019, a contemporary visual record of La Samaritaine has been created from these viewpoints, whose diversity, originality and cross-fertilisation of ideas has made it possible to develop a new way of looking at the site. This collection of original works enables us to grasp the uniqueness and complexity of a renovation project of this scale, while simultaneously offering a dialogue between heritage and zeitgeist, the past and the future – amply proven by the works of each photographer that we introduce you to here.

Jean-Jacques Guiony
President, La Samaritaine