"Photographie lunaire Lalande-Copernic-Kepler"

photogravure

"1896, 23 Avril 8h 3 t.m. Paris par M.M.Loewy et Puiseux…" (type) on front

This photograph of the moon by Maurice M. Loewy (director of the Paris Observatory) and Pierre Henri Puiseux (astronomer) is an early masterpiece of scientific photography and, at the same time, an important example of the aesthetic quality of technical images at the end of the 19^th century. Created as part of the large-scale Atlas photographique de la Lune project carried out at the Paris Observatory, the images in the series stand at the intersection of science and art – at a time when photography was increasingly establishing itself as an independent medium.
Particularly noteworthy in this photograph is the nuanced quality of light and shadow. The sunlight falling from the side makes the craters Lalande, Copernic, and Kepler, the mountain ranges, and lunar valleys stand out with great plasticity. The deep shadow zones contrast with the bright, almost overexposed areas and create a strong spatial effect. This lighting gives the moon's surface a dramatic, almost theatrical presence – an effect reminiscent of the chiaroscuro of Baroque painting.
In a historical context, Loewy and Puiseux's photographs of the moon also reflect the zeitgeist of the fin de siècle, when faith in technology, scientific progress, and artistic innovation were closely intertwined. While the two documented the lunar surface with unprecedented precision, they simultaneously created an image of poetic austerity and quiet grandeur. The seemingly purely factual lunar landscape thus becomes the stage for an intense play of light and shadow – an impressive testimony to the extent to which scientific image production and visual culture intertwined in the 19^th century.
(Christoph Fuchs)