worked extensive hours to handle such responsibil-
ities, sometimes meeting with artists on Saturdays.
The depth and intensity of his involvement in
photography made him a valuable source of in-
formation about contemporary photographers,
photography institutions and activities, and diverse
personalities in the art world such as gallery direc-
tors, editors, curators, and critics. Because of the
demands on his time at the BNF, he once said, ‘‘If
I truly need to finish some work, I need to stay
home.’’ His dynamic, incessant presence in the
world of photography in Paris was so strong that
he was nicknamed, ‘‘The Master.’’
One of his principle responsibilities at the BNF
was to acquire new works for the collection. Meet-
ing regularly with artists, he confronted the problem
of limited financial resources and the continuous
discovery of new work. Purchasing works directly
from the artist or through a gallery or agent, he
opted as a matter of policy to disperse available
funds to a diversity of potential artist instead of
concentrating funds for major purchases of the
more established and more expensive works. Over
the years he served as photography curator the BNF
acquired over 70,000 new photographs. His cura-
torial efforts establish the collection of the BNF as
one of the most important photography collections
in the world.
Lemagny was also responsible for the organiza-
tion of exhibitions from the library’s collection. On
a monthly basis, BNF photography exhibitions
filled the library’s Galerie Colbert. The Galerie
Colbert was an experiment to create and maintain
an exhibition space that coherently reflected the
contemporary aspect to works exhibited there.
Lemagny organized nearly 100 exhibitions in the
Galerie Colbert. Some of these exhibitions were in
other sites in Paris and around the world.Eloge de
L’Ombre, an exhibition and catalogue organized by
Lemagny, was presented to the public in 2000–2001
at the Kawasaki Municipal Museum and the
Yamaguchi regional Fine-Art Museum in Japan.
The publication in 1992 ofL’ombre et le tempsis
a look at this curator’s thoughts and visions on
photography. Working with other contributors
responding to his propositions, this book strives
to merge both enthusiastic support and provoca-
tive criticism into fertile material for reflection on
the state and nature of photography.
In 1994, shortly before retiring as curator of
photography, he organized an exhibition and book
calledLa Matiere, l’Ombre et la Fiction,(Matter,
Shadow and Fiction). Both the exhibit and the book
drew from the BNF’s collection of contemporary
photographs, organizing works by panels based not
on author, date, content, theme, or genre but by the
photographs’ visual compatibility. Lemagny once
wrote that any two photographs have more in com-
mon one with the other than any photograph could
ever have with something seen in it. The presenta-
tion provoked both strong support as well as criti-
cism. In 1996, Jean-Francois Chevrier criticized
Jean-Claude Lemagny for devoting himself to crea-
tive photography while neglecting documentary and
informational considerations. The same year, Phil-
lipe Arbaizar wrote of Lemagny’s tremendous work
and contribution to the world of art photography.
In 1989, Lemagny wrote: ‘‘In photography, as in
all art, what is of fundamental importance is not
finding an idea but exploring matter manifest in
forms. It is about sustaining a certain thickness,
from within which creativity can circulate.’’
BruceMcaig
Seealso:Archives; Bibliothe`que nationale de France;
Museums: Europe; Photography in FranceBiography
Born in Versailles, France, 24 December 1931. License in
History and Geography, Certificate in French Littera-
teur, Certificate in Art of the Middle Ages, Diploma of
Superior Studies in the History of Art,Agregationin
History. Awarded the Medal of Algeria, named an Offi-
cial of Arts and Letters. 1963 to 1998 served as Chief
Curator of Photography at the Bibliotheque Nationale
de France. Over the last 50 years of the twentieth cen-
tury, prepared hundreds of exhibitions and texts on
photography. Lives in Paris, France.Selected Works
La photographie creative, 1984
Histoire de la Photographie, by Andre Rouille et Jean-
Claude Legmany, 1986. Second edition, 1997
L’Ombre et le temps, 1992
La Matiere, l’ombre et la fiction, 1994
Le Cours du visible, 1999Further Reading
Bibliothe ́que nationale, ed. ‘‘Bonjour Monsieur Lemagny.’’
InNouvelles de la photographie. Paris: Bibliothe ́que Na-
tionale, 1996.
Delage de Luget, Marion.Jean-Claude Lemagny, maitre
d’oeuvre. Paris: DEA d’Arts Plastiques Universite Paris
VIII, 2001.
Lemagny, Jean-Claude.Eloge de l’Ombre. Tokyo: Tosyo
Insatsu Co., Ltd. 2000.LEMAGNY, JEAN-CLAUDE