Ben Dauchez - Sebastiao Salgado Immortel

This photograph immortalizes the great Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado at the Institut de France, in Paris, during a prize-giving ceremony of the Academy of Fine Arts, of which he was a member.

A major figure in contemporary photography, Sebastião Salgado is worldwide renowned for his exceptional black-and-white work, devoted to humanity, nature and the great realities of our world. His distinctive gaze and the power of his images have profoundly shaped the history of photography.

This portrait holds a particularly meaningful dimension for me. Sebastião Salgado is a photographer whom I deeply admire. I had the immense luck to meet him and to be able to take his portrait, a precious moment in my journey as a photographer.

We see him here in his academic gown, beside a classical marble sculpture. The encounter between the living figure of the photographer and the timeless presence of the sculpture creates a dialogue about art, memory and transmission.

This photograph also fits into a broader professional project: for four years, Ben Dauchez produced various photographic works for the Institut de France, contributing to renew and enrich its visual identity.

Through this portrait, he pays homage to one of the great masters of contemporary photography.

The photograph direct from BEN DAUCHEZ's studio is numbered and hand-signed by the artist. It will be delivered with a certificate of authenticity drawn up and signed by the photographer. Unframed

Support: digital print on BARYTA FINE ART paper. It has never been framed.

Passionate about photography from a very young age, Ben DAUCHEZ began in the neighborhood studios of La Rochelle. There he learned the entire range of photography—from classic technique, to shooting and retouching, to the lab work. At 22, freshly graduated, he moved to Paris to perfect his training by becoming a set assistant for the Daguerre studios, Le Petit Oiseau va sortir and Studio Zéro. He had the chance to collaborate and assist some of the most talented photographers: Bettina RHEIMS, Patrick DEMARCHELIER, Terry RICHARDSON, Ellen VON UNWERTH, Marcus MAM... From certain decisive encounters came beautiful projects and long collaborations, notably with André RAU, Bettina RHEIMS (the sulfide exhibition INRI and its eponymous book at Editions Albin Michel) and Peter BEARD (Pirelli calendar 2009 in Botswana).

His photographs have been published, among others, by Condé Nast Editions (French and international), Première, Wallpaper, ID, Madame Figaro, Lifestyles, Dandy Magazine... His world also interests brands with very diverse identity codes for which he has created institutional and/or advertising campaigns such as Dior (beauty), L'Oréal, Peugeot, Philip Morris or Burger King (advertising awarded at the Dubai Lynx).

Ben DAUCHEZ has also produced numerous portraits of celebrities (IGGY POP, Woody ALLEN, Grace JONES, Jean DUJARDIN, Gilles LELLOUCHE, Olivier MARCHAL, Carole BOUQUET, Charlotte GAINSBOURG, ...) of beauty, men of the world (Olivier DASSAULT, Jacques SEGUELA...) and travelers...
This photographic path has since allowed him to freely capture the human beauty, aesthetic and spiritual essence of each personality.