Raymond Voinquel

Raymond Voinquel, natif de Fraizes, dans les Vosges a très tôt manifesté un intérêt profond pour les belles choses. Echappant à une vie de province sans relief particulier, il arrive à Paris en 1927 et s'éssaye à la figuration cinématographique, caressant l'espoir de devenir acteur. Au hasard d'une rencontre il devient l'assistant du photographe de plateau Roger Forster. C'est le début d'une carrière magistrale qui fera de Raymond Voinquel l'un des tout grands de ce métier si particulier. Sa maîtrise de la chambre à grand format, de la lumière et du tirage lui vaudra l'amitié et la reconnaissance de nombreuses stars de l'époque, qui auront tôt compris l'intérêt pour leur renommée de proposer à leur public une image parfaite. Ophüls, Renoir, Melville mais aussi Bunuel ou Carné feront appel à lui. Pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale, période de disette pour les génies du cinéma, souvent réfugiés à Hollywood, Raymond Voinquel integrera les studios Harcourt, obtenant le privilège de signer de son nom. L'oeuvre de Raymond Voinquel comprend aussi de remarquables paysages, des photographies prises au cours de voyages en Orient ou transparait une préoccupation spirituelle. Sa pratique du nu masculin, en studio comme en extérieur inspirera certains photographes de mode contemporain qui perpétuent la tradition et l'excellence du noir et blanc. Les lumières de la vie de Raymond Voinquel s'éteignent en 1994.

Raymond Voinquel, born in Fraizes (Vosges) in France demonstrated a very early and profound interest in beautiful things. Escaping a provincial life offering no particular excitement, he arrived in Paris in 1927 and tried working as an extra, hoping to make a career as an actor. Following a chance meeting, he became the assistant of the still photographer Roger Forster. It was the beginning of a great career which would make Raymond Voinquel one of the most renowned figures in this highly specialised field. His mastery of large format cameras, lighting and developing won him the friendship and recognition of many famous people of the time who were quick to realise that presenting a perfect image to their public was vital to their fame. Ophüls, Renoir, Melville, Bunuel and Carné, all called upon his expertise. During the Second World War, a difficult time for the geniuses of cinema many of whom took refuge in Hollywood, Raymond Voinquel joined the Harcourt Studios, thereby obtaining the right to sign under his own name. Raymond Voinquel's work also includes some remarkable landscape photography, made during trips to the East, which evoke his spiritual interests and concerns. His photographs of male nudes both in the studio and outside have provided a source of inspiration for several contemporary fashion photographers who perpetuate the tradition and the excellence of black and white photography. Raymond Voinquel died in 1994.