The autochrome process developed in Lyon in 1903 by the Lumière brothers and French film and photographic pioneers Lumière to produce colour photographs was first presented to the enthusiastic visitors of the Photo-Club de Paris in 1907. In the following years, important and well-known photographers such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Frank Eugene, Heinrich Kühn, Nicola Perscheid and Emma Barton quickly adapted, tested, used and disseminated the innovative technology and incorporated it into their artistic work. But by far not only in art, but also in reporting and the newspaper industry, the autochrome process was experimented with for a while. However, the production costs and purchase price of the autochrome plates and, above all, the considerably longer exposure time compared to the black-and-white drying plates that were common and customary at the time soon proved to be too high or impractical. Nevertheless, the historically first method of colour photography was used intensively, not least for impressive, impressive and shocking pictures during the First World War. One of the most active photographers in this respect was Louis Fernand Cuville, who was born in Bordeaux in 1887 and also died there in 1927.
Together with the equally qualified photographer Pierre-Joseph Paul Castelnau (1880-1944), he worked as military operator of the photographic department "SPA" of the French army from 1914 until the end of the war in 1918 under the direction of Pierre Marcel Lévi. The photographers of this unit took almost every photo taken twice and sent the autochromes to the "Archives de la Planète" (Archives of the Planet), the largest ethnological photo and film project in the world, founded in Paris in 1908 by the wealthy banker and photo enthusiast Albert Kahn and personally directed until 1930. Many of the photographs by Cuville and Castelnau are part of the collection of the "Musée départemental Albert-Kahn" in the town of Boulogne-Billancourt southwest of Paris in the Département Hauts-de-Seine, which was opened in 1990 and is also known for its spacious gardens covering an area of four hectares. The two photographers Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud and Albert Samama Chikli also belonged to the "SPA", who produced just as many colour photographs of the battlefields. Even better known, however, was the freelance photographer Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, whose two books of autochrome images of the front at the Marne and Verdun contained the first ever colour images of the First War.
Louis Fernand Cuville in turn became additionally known to a broad public after the war through his numerous autochromes from his repeated trips to the Greek Orthodox monk's republic around Mount Athos on the peninsula of Chalkidikí in Central Macedonia, which has also been protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. After he left military service in 1919 and got a job as a photographer at the "Archives de la Planète", he repeatedly photographed the mountainous landscapes of the Pyrenees, Charente-Maritime, Gironde, Landes and Haute-Garonne in the southwest of France in 1919 and 1920, and often photographed unique cultural monuments such as the 12th century Gothic cathedral of Soissons in the department of Aisne. One of Louis Fernand Cuville's most famous war photographs today is the 1917 photograph taken in Reims of a little girl playing innocently with her doll, along with two rifles placed on the ground and a soldier's backpack.
×
Passionate Customer Service
 - (MeisterDrucke-161087).jpg "A Little Girl Playing with Her Doll; Two Guns and a Knapsack are Next to Her on the Ground, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-161087).jpg)
.jpg "German and English inscriptions on a wall, Soissons, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Ruins of the heavily damaged Vauxrot distillery, Cuffies, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "The remains of the damaged church, Marchelepot, Somme, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-188085).jpg "Soissons, After the Bombing on 5th July, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-188085).jpg)
.jpg "French Soldiers of the 11th Artillery Regiment Installing Tracks for a Narrow Gauge Railway, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Interior of the Badly Damaged Church, Roye, Somme, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "An Area Near the Castle with Buildings and Trees Damaged by Artillery Fire, Chaulnes, Somme, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Soldiers at the Chateau Vauxbuin, Used by the French Army as a Hospital, Soissons, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-263834).jpg "View of Ruins, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-263834).jpg)
.jpg "The New Bridge in Pommiers Across the Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Three French Soldiers Doing Laundry at a Well, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-215094).jpg "Nine French Soldiers at a Wooden Building with Military Camouflage, Soissons, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-215094).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-264789).jpg "Ruined church, Cuffies, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-264789).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-205289).jpg "The church of Saint-Martin, which was blown up during the retreat of the German army, Chauny, Aisne, France, February 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-205289).jpg)
.jpg "Trees Destroyed During Battle, Chaulnes, Somme, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-250768).jpg "View of the ruins, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-250768).jpg)
.jpg "French military doctors and nurses in front of Saint-Paul Hospital, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-150168).jpg "The ruins of the castle after the retreat of the Germans, Noyon, Oise, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-150168).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-175602).jpg "The Damaged Watermill of the Castle in the Snow, Chaulnes, Somme, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-175602).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-189048).jpg "Soldiers at the Chateau Vauxbuin, Used by the French Army as a Hospital, Soissons, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-189048).jpg)
.jpg "Burnt out locomotive and railway car in front of the ruins of the heavily damaged Vauxrot distillery, Cuffies, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-208340).jpg "Group of Algerian soldiers following the retreat of the German army, Noyon, Oise, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-208340).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-316321).jpg "Chauny, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-316321).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-145286).jpg "Church damaged by artillery fire, Tracy-le-Val, Oise, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-145286).jpg)
.jpg "Canadian soldiers with a cant hook are sitting on the trunk of a tree for a sawmill, Quesmy, Oise, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Damaged Graves at the Northern Cemetery, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Carts along the bank of the Aisne, church of Saint-Waast in the background, Soissons, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "The northern facade of the Cathedrale Saint-Gervaise-et-Saint-Protais, begun in 1180 and seriously damaged during the war, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Cathedrale Saint-Gervaise-et-Saint-Protais, begun in 1180 and seriously damaged during the war, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-255214).jpg "View of Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-255214).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-147531).jpg "Ruins of the distillery, Cuffies, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-147531).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-208398).jpg "Three Workers from Senegal in Front of a House, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-208398).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-180609).jpg "Chateau Vauxbuin, Used by the French Army as a Hospital, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-180609).jpg)
.jpg "Bomb damage to the Cathedrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Couple on the doorstep of Le Foll dairy, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Church and Destroyed Buildings on the Rue du Coq Lombard, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-160313).jpg "Five French Soldiers Clearing the Rubble in the Ruins of Reims during World War I by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-160313).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-232296).jpg "Missy-sur-Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-232296).jpg)
.jpg "Eight Members of the 143rd Infantry Division of the French Army Making Hay, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-153757).jpg "View of ruins, Soissons, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-153757).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-172124).jpg "The Ruins of the Factory and the Abbey of Notre-Dame d")
 - (MeisterDrucke-172124).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-318173).jpg "The Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims, Marne, France by Fernand Cuville")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-318173).jpg)
.jpg "The Boevre Farm Building in Ruins, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-181595).jpg "House with damaged roof, Soissons, Aisne, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-181595).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-161339).jpg "Ruins of the heavily damaged Vauxrot distillery, Cuffies, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-161339).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-222696).jpg "Glass Factory, Vauxrot, Cuffies, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-222696).jpg)
.jpg "Ruins of the Chateau Saint-Paul, Crouy, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-179814).jpg "A church damaged during the war, Chaulnes, Somme, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-179814).jpg)
.jpg "View of Soissons with the River Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Four workers loading personal belongings onto a cart, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Group portrait of members of the Red Cross, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-182471).jpg "Abbey Saint-Leger, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-182471).jpg)
.jpg "Church damaged during the war, Chaulnes, Somme, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-159963).jpg "French soldiers and actors of the front theatre pose in the ruins, Vauxrezis, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-159963).jpg)
.jpg "French Officers of the 370th Infantry Regiment Posing in the Ruins after the Attack of German Troops at the Chemin des Dames near Reims during World War I, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "View of a forge destroyed by grenades, Reims, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Two French Soldiers and a Boy in Front of the Liquor Store Felix Potin at the Market, Reims, Marne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Three French soldiers cooking lunch on an open fire, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-160099).jpg "Woman in the Window of a Butcher")
 - (MeisterDrucke-160099).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-172223).jpg "The Damaged Church with a Hole Through Which Houses Can Be Seen, Thiescourt, Oise, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-172223).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-159433).jpg "Four firemen with their equipment, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-159433).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-177969).jpg "French soldiers installing barbed wire near the storage building for bottles, at a heavily damaged glass factory, Verrerie Saint-Gobain de Vauxrot, Cuffies, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-177969).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-170964).jpg "Employees of the Maison Rohart with a horse and cart, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-170964).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-151456).jpg "German Army Slogan on the Wall of a Damaged Brick Building: May God Punish England! 191415, Bucy-le-Long, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-151456).jpg)
.jpg "Ruins of the Chateau Plessis following the retreat of the Germans, Noyon, Oise, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "French soldiers in the courtyard of a heavily damaged castle blown up by German soldiers in 1917, Coucy-le-Chateau-Auffrique, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-291169).jpg "Ruined Houses, Pommiers, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-291169).jpg)
.jpg "The Destroyed Distillery After the Retreat of the Germans, Bucy-le-Long, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "The Boevre farm building in ruins, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-147163).jpg "Remains of the damaged castle, Dives, Oise, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-147163).jpg)
.jpg "Two African Soldiers Heating Up a Meal, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Three Children Playing with Bowling Pins at the Place Drouet d")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-162897).jpg "Canadian Soldiers Working in a Sawmill, Quesmy, Oise, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-162897).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-147128).jpg "Cloister of the Convent of the Cordeliers, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-147128).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-185789).jpg "Two Senior Citizens of Reims, an Old Woman and Mr. Reiser, Standing in Front of a Gate with Many Bullet Holes, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-185789).jpg)
.jpg "Two French Soldiers and Horses in the Cloister of the Abbey of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes, Heavily Damaged by Artillery Fire, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "A Farmer and Two French Soldiers Ploughing with Two Horses, Marne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "A French soldier next to a table with German grenades and an aircraft propeller, Reims, Marne, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-154325).jpg "Bomb Damage to the Cathedrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-154325).jpg)
.jpg "Wounded Soldiers from the Battlefield Near Laffaux at Saint-Paul Hospital During World War I, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-148579).jpg "Old House in Longpont, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-148579).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-215110).jpg "A Cemetery with New Graves, Reims, Marne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-215110).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-150324).jpg "Interior of a Bombed House, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-150324).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-157446).jpg "Three French soldiers parked in front of a heavily damaged building with a small truck, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-157446).jpg)
.jpg "Barrel Bridge Across the Aisne, Soissons, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-194249).jpg "The Ruins of the Factory and the Abbey of Notre-Dame d")
 - (MeisterDrucke-194249).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-159238).jpg "Three French soldiers in a street with damaged buildings, Chauny, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-159238).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-197181).jpg "Collection of Unexploded German Shells, Reims, Marne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-197181).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-178491).jpg "The Burned Out Railroad and Streetcar Yard with a Few Damaged Vehicles and a Locomotive, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-178491).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-183521).jpg "Soup distribution in the French trenches in the rear of the front, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-183521).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-191865).jpg "Soldiers working with shovels in the debris of a building, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-191865).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-172558).jpg "Church damaged by artillery fire, Tracy-le-Val, Oise, France by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-172558).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-177880).jpg "A French officer inspects the barbed wire around French positions, Soissons, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-177880).jpg)
.jpg "Panorama of the Ruins of the City, Reims, Marne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-255788).jpg "Nieuport Biplane, Aisne, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
 - (MeisterDrucke-255788).jpg)
.jpg "French Soldiers from a Special Unit Building a Wooden Bridge Across the Aisne, Soissons, France, 1917 by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Panorama of Saint-Waast, Soissons, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
.jpg "Corner of the Rue des Minimes, Soissons, Aisne, France by Fernand Cuville")
.jpg)
+43 4257 29415
support@meisterdrucke.com
Mo-Do: 7:00 - 16:00 | Fr: 7:00 - 13:00
