Bernard Faucon

Famous for his elaborately constructed “mise en scène” photography, Bernard Faucon has inspired a generation of artists, writers, fashion designers, and filmmakers with his unique style. Blending images of the natural and the surreal with vibrancy and color, Bernard Faucon’s work often evokes scenes of a romanticized childhood. In his early work, Bernard Faucon achieved these scenes thorough a mix of live models and mannequins, which he used to create stunning, dreamlike tableaux. Active from 1977 to 1997, Bernard Faucon focused his latter work on the fragility of time through images of sparse landscapes and interiors. Bernard Faucon was born in Provence, France in 1950. As a young man, he was educated at the lycée in Apt in Provence and the Sorbonne in Paris. In the early part of his career, Bernard Faucon focused on painting. In 1976, after purchasing a Hasselblad camera, Bernard Faucon switched to photography. Unlike many contemporary photographers, Bernard Faucon utilized the Fresson method in his work, a traditional technique, dating back to the turn of the 20th century, which allows for more a paint-like patina. Since 1977, there have been more than 300 solo exhibitions of Bernard Faucon’s work throughout Western Europe, the United States, and Japan. In 2006, Bernard Faucon presented his first complete Retrospective at Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris. To accompany this event, Bernard Faucon published his “Catalogue raisonné,” a complete collection of his photographic work. Widely celebrated for his contributions to art, Bernard Faucon received the Grand Prix National in 1989. Additionally, Faucon received the Prix Leonard De Vinci in 1991. Outside of his photography, Bernard Faucon published a book of his writing, "La peur du voyage," in 1999. From 1997 to 2005, Bernard Faucon organized the participatory art event “Le Plus Beau Jour de ma Jeunesse” (The Happiest Day of my Youth), which involved hundreds of children throughout the world.