Lyon, August 4, 2026 – The Lyon Municipal Library is set to open a significant exhibition, ‘Georges Vermard, press photographer,’ at its Part-Dieu location. This retrospective will feature the extensive work of Georges Vermard, a Lyon-based press photographer whose nearly 15,000 negatives provide an invaluable visual record of the city’s evolution from the 1950s to the 1970s. The exhibition is scheduled to run from October 15, 2026, to January 16, 2027, at the Espace Patrimoine of the Bibliothèque de la Part-Dieu.
Georges Vermard: Lyon Through the Eyes of a Photojournalist
Georges Vermard, who passed away in 2025, bequeathed his exceptional collection of photographs to the library in 1990. This archive has since become a crucial historical resource, capturing the profound transformations that Lyon underwent during the post-war decades. The exhibition aims to bring these rarely seen images to public light, offering a unique perspective on the city’s past.
The exhibition’s narrative is structured around eight key themes, reflecting the breadth of Vermard’s photographic interests: urban planning, fashion, sports, entertainment, daily life, and major events. Each section highlights Vermard’s keen eye for both the monumental shifts of his era and the intimate moments of everyday existence, all captured with a strong sense of composition and deep human sensitivity. His work presents the Rhône region and its metropolis from both a documentary and artistic standpoint.
A National Celebration of Photography
This retrospective is part of a broader national initiative: from autumn 2026 to summer 2027, the Lyon Municipal Library will participate in the National Bicentennial of Photography, an event supported by the Ministry of Culture. The Georges Vermard exhibition marks the ambitious opening of this cycle, emphasizing the vital role of libraries in preserving photographic heritage and making these valuable collections accessible to the public.
A Humanistic Gaze on Post-War Lyon
A striking characteristic of Georges Vermard’s work is the consistent journalistic perspective he maintained over two pivotal decades for Lyon. The period from the 1950s to the 1970s was a time of intense reconstruction, urban modernization, and significant changes in lifestyle. Vermard skillfully documented these transformations with the precision of a reporter and the sensitivity of an artist, making each photograph both a testament and a carefully crafted composition.
The exhibition underscores the importance of press photography as a historical source in its own right. Far from being mere illustrations of current events, Vermard’s photographs are presented as essential tools for understanding recent history, offering insights into the social, cultural, and urban evolution of a city in flux. The diverse themes explored in the exhibition demonstrate the extensive scope of Vermard’s career.
By dedicating this retrospective to Georges Vermard as part of the Bicentennial of Photography, the Bibliothèque de la Part-Dieu reaffirms its commitment to transmitting and disseminating visual heritage. This posthumous tribute provides the people of Lyon with a rare opportunity to delve into a collective memory, photographed with humanism, precision, and curiosity, and to rediscover their city through the singular eye of one of its most faithful witnesses.
Practical Information:
Location: Bibliothèque de la Part-Dieu – Espace Patrimoine, 69005 Lyon
Contact: 04 78 71 13 35, [email protected]
Dates: Thursday, October 15, 2026, to Saturday, January 16, 2027
Source: jds.fr
