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Alphonse Davanne (12 April 1824 – 19 September 1912) was a French chemist, photographer, and writer.
Alphonse Davanne | |
|---|---|
 Photograph by Mathieu-Deroche (reproduced in heliogravure by Paul Dujardin) | |
| Born | Louis-Alphonse Davanne 12 April 1824 |
| Died | 1 January 1912 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | French |
| Awards | Officer of the Legion of Honour (1889) Knight of the Order of Leopold |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry, Photography |
Louis-Alphonse Davanne was born in Paris, France, on 12 April 1824.[1]
In 1852, the French chemist embraced photography as his profession.[2] His own photographs were signed "A. Davanne".[3]
Alphonse Davanne was a founding member of the Société française de photographie in 1854 and served on the board of directors.[1] He was also a member of the Royal Photographic Society. At the general meeting of the French Photographic Society (French: Société française de photographie) on July 16, 1858, Davanne presented uranium prints made by Louis Alphonse de Brébisson and read out a letter from him explaining his photographic process.[4]
During the 1850s, he re-explored bitumen of Judea as a medium for Photoengraving, naming his technique litho-photographie.[3] In 1858, Davanne contributed to a work published in Paris under the title Photographic chemistry (French: Chimie photographique) in collaboration with French chemist and physiologist Charles-Louis Barreswil.[5] In January 1863, he worked alongside French chemist Aimé Girard on the action of nitrate of silver upon albumen.[6] He was admitted to the Société chimique de Paris in 1864.[7] He later published the Photographic Directory in 1865.[8]
In the 1870s, Davanne held the position of vice president for the French Society of Photography, becoming its president in 1876. He was also a professor of photography at the National School of Bridges and Highways (French: École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées).[9]
He was appointed as a member of the awards jury at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.[10]
In 1885, Davanne wrote about French inventor Nicéphore Niepce, publishing his work under the title Nicéphore Niepce, inventeur de la photographie.[11]
In August 1887, The English Mechanic and World of Science highlighted that Davanne announced a 1000 franc prize for a photographic plate combining the benefits of both gelatin and collodion, with a submission deadline of 31 December 1888.[12]
In 1888, he was nominated to the organizing committee for the first International Congress of Photography, established to coincide with the Universal Exhibitions.[13] He held the position of vice president under Jules Janssen, the committee's president, alongside astronomer Charles Wolf.[14] He presided over the awards jury at the Exposition Universelle in Brussels in 1888 and Paris in the following year.[15] Davanne, the chairman of the board of directors of the French Photographic Society, was appointed as president of the awards jury for the Exposition Universelle of 1889.[10]
He was distinguished as an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1889.
By 1892, Davanne presided over the council of the French Society of Photography and was a delegate of the French Association for the Advancement of Sciences (French: Association française pour l'avancement des sciences).[16][17]
He was later appointed to the commission for the Antwerp International Exposition in 1894.[18]
In 1900, at the Paris Exposition, he was the vice president for the photography category (i.e. materials, processes, and products), where he worked alongside president Étienne-Jules Marey, rapporteur Léon Vidal, and secretary Michel Berthaud.[19]
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Alphonse Davanne died on 19 September 1912 in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine, France.[1]
- Photos by Michel Berthaud
Construction Portique Château Pau
Portal of the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Abbey Church
Great Upper Waterfall, High Alps
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