Gery Cichowlas
1968
Marianne on aluminium

Gelatin silver print
Private collection of Gery Cichowlas
"Marianne", a national emblem of France, is a personification of Liberty and Reason. She is present in many places in France and holds a place of honor in town halls and law court. She is considered one of the most prominent symbols of the French Republic. The model for Marianne was Agathe Gaillard whom Jean-Philippe Charbonnier married later in 1968 and is a gallery owner in Paris.
 
The following anecdote has been provided by Gery Cichowlas:
 
"When I was an assistant of Jean-Philippe Charbonnier, in 1968, he created with the sculptor Gosselin, a photographic effigy fixed to aluminium of the emblem of the republic "Marianne". It was a revolution (another one that very special year). Until then "Marianne" was a bronze sculpture. It is during this reconstruction of the original session, for Paris-Match, that I took theses photos.
 
The hands holding the lightmeter in the Paris-Match series are mine."
 
LL/12565