Known collectively as the Bisson Frères, the two brothers Louis-Auguste and August-Rosalie Bisson captured Europe’s attention with their striking, large-scale photographs of French churches and historic monuments across Europe. Their breathtaking alpine views shot on an expedition led by Napoleon III to celebrate the return of Savoy to France were widely celebrated, enhancing their reputation for a wide range of photographic styles. Shot from a bird’s-eye view, Glacier des Bossons, Savoie (ca. 1860) embodies man’s endeavor to overcome nature with its portrayal of the tiny ant-like figures crossing a glacier. Early work included studio portraiture and then, upon switching from using a daguerreotype to a positive/negative process, reproductions of works by Rembrandt and Albrecht Dürer.
The Ascent of Mont Blanc, 1861. Photo: Bisson Frères
Porte St. Denis, 1860s. Photo: Bisson Frères
Arch of Constantine, Rome, 1860s. Photo: Bisson Frères
Basilica of Maxentius, Rome, 1860s. Photo: Bisson Frères
Audenarde. Hôtel de Ville, 1858. Photo: Bisson Frères
Paris – Opposite Notre Dame, 1858. Photo: Bisson Frères
Notre Dame, Paris, 1850s. Photo: Bisson Frères
Valley of Chamonix seen from Le Chapeau, 1860. Photo: Bisson Frères
Temple of Saturn and Temple of Vespasian, Rome, 1860s. Photo: Bisson Frères
Paris. Old Hôtel de Ville, 1858. Photo: Bisson Frères
Orléans Cathedral, 1857. Photo: Bisson Frères
Rouen. Vestiges of the Loggia of the Abbesses from the Abbey of Saint Amand, 1858. Photo: Bisson Frères
