This is undoubtedly one of the most iconic photos of a lighthouse in the storm. That of the Jument lighthouse, in Ouessant, taken by Jean Guichard on December 21, 1989, which is therefore just celebrating its 35th anniversary. At that time, the authorities had taken the decision to initiate a program to automate lighthouses… and therefore gradually eliminate the job of keeper. The photographer therefore sets out to carry out memory work around this profession before it dies out. And he decides, for lack of existing documents, to also photograph the lighthouses in the storm.
“The lighthouse was buried under the waves”
This is how on December 21, 1989, taking advantage of favorable weather conditions, he took off from Lorient by helicopter. Direction the Iroise Sea and Ouessant. But due to lack of light, he stopped with his pilot at the Pointe du Raz, even imagining having to cancel the intervention. Until a glimmer of sunlight shines through. In the air, the spectacle is impressive. “The lighthouse was buried under the waves,” recalls Jean Guichard. Flying over the Mare lighthouse for the first time to take photos of the lighthouse in its full height, he asked his pilot to come closer after seeing the keeper come out for the first time out of curiosity.
“The biggest draw in the world”
It is at this precise moment that his emblematic photo will be taken. As a huge wave crashes against the lighthouse. The photo will then go around the world. “I am a press man, a beautiful publication was enough for my happiness,” assures Jean Guichard, taking the example of the German weekly “Stern” which found a place on a double page for the photo, in the middle of a special issue dedicated to the fall of the Berlin Wall. “When an associate came to tell me that a publishing company wanted to make a poster, I accepted half-heartedly, almost with contempt… Because I knew nothing about this activity,” continues the photographer. Good luck to him, because, he specifies, “around the 2000s, this poster of the Mare represented the largest circulation in the world”.
“He only had wet feet”
But how does its author explain the unexpected success of this photograph? “Already,” he believes, “no one, not even the keepers, had the visual experience of a lighthouse in the storm at that time.” Jean Guichard continues: “Through this photo, we discover how a human construction can resist the rage of the natural elements. This lighthouse is on the front line to suffer the onslaught of storms but this granite tower, despite scratches, has never fallen. The guard at its door validates the robustness of the building and its belonging to human work.” The fate of this guard, a hero without his own knowledge, has also concerned many people who have seen the photograph. But, reassures Jean Guichard with a smile, “he only had wet feet”.
“After this photo, I saw Théodore Malgorn many times in Ouessant, where he lives in Lampaul. He's retired now, but I think he's doing well even though it's been a while since I've spoken to him! »
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