Denis Brihat, the Vaucluse photographer at the origin of several printing techniques, has died

During his last exhibition in Bonnieux, Denis Brihat spoke about this selection of photographs taken during the trip he made to India in 1955. A year-long journey: a trip by boat, then, on site, the third class wagons. An adventure motivated by a need for a change of scenery. Denis Brihat, then a young photographer in his thirties, had not forgotten this “land of contrast” which he still evoked with great emotion at the beginning of July 2023 in his workshop in Bonnieux.

Testimonies of a great availability to reality and a sensitive perception of life, which comes within optical range, his images will be rewarded with the Niepce prize in 1957, upon his return by boat to Europe, a year later Robert Doisneau. It was also during a conversation with Doisneau that Brihat, going through a period of questioning, spoke to his friend about his crush on a corner of Provence discovered during his reporting: the Luberon.

On the Claparèdes plateau

Brihat hesitates to leave Paris to settle in a remote corner, a cabin without water or electricity, on the Claparèdes plateau. “If I were you, I would already be there!“, replied Doisneau. Three days later, Denis arrived on the Claparèdes plateau and initially settled in the neighboring cabin of his friend the writer Jean-Paul Clébert.