01. Léonard Misonne, Les bucherons, c. 1934
02. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1932
03. Léonard Misonne, Rue royale, 1936
04. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1930
05. Léonard Misonne, Après la pluie, 1932
06. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1937
07. Léonard Misonne, Choix difficile, 1933
08. Léonard Misonne, Première cigarette, 1927
![09. Léonard Misonne, [title illegible], c. 1930. Wet, cobbled, residential street and steps in soft light. Sepia-toned print.](https://img.artlogic.net/w_2020,h_1160,c_limit/exhibit-e/5d3084d1a5aa2c507b8b4567/48aab5e890bdd4b2c786fe9f99d97664.jpeg)
09. Léonard Misonne, [title illegible], c. 1930
10. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, n.d.
11. Léonard Misonne, Le barrage gelè, c. 1935
12. Léonard Misonne, Hiver à Dinant, 1934
13. Léonard Misonne, Lever de soleil, c. 1924
14. Léonard Misonne, Aurora a'hiver, 1926
15. Léonard Misonne, On alume le jeux, 1924
16. Léonard Misonne, Mouton au crèpuscule, 1908
17. Léonard Misonne, Cumulus, 1928
18. Léonard Misonne, Coucher de soleil, c. 1901
20. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1926
21. Léonard Misonne, La brise, 1926
22. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1930
23. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1930
24. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1930
![25. Léonard Misonne, [title illegible], 1933. Sun-streaked snowy, wooded hills with thin trees. Sepia-toned print.](https://img.artlogic.net/w_2020,h_1160,c_limit/exhibit-e/5d3084d1a5aa2c507b8b4567/f65e14855e88b6412d2868de49c51a2c.jpeg)
25. Léonard Misonne, [title illegible], 1933
26. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, n.d.
27. Léonard Misonne, Brume, 1923
28. Léonard Misonne, Bord de l'etang, 1918
29. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1930
30. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1930
31. Léonard Misonne, Untitled, c. 1930
32. Léonard Misonne, Pluie Venise, 1936
Belgian photographer Léonard Misonne (1870-1943) trained as an engineer before discovering photography. Raised in Gilly, Belgium, the photographer traveled throughout his homeland and beyond to capture the landscape and people of Europe in the Pictorialist style. Pictorialist photographs, characterized by soft, painterly scenes, were created through alternative printing processes that utilize materials such as oil and gum bichromate. The Pictorialist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries sought to elevate photography to the level of other fine arts such as painting and sculpture.
Misonne said, "The sky is the key to the landscape." This philosophy is clear in many of Misonne's images, often filled with billowing clouds, early morning fog, or rays of sunlight. The artist excelled at capturing his subjects in dramatic, directional light, illuminating figures from behind, which resulted in a halo effect. Favoring stormy weather conditions, Misonne often found his subjects navigating the streets under umbrellas or braced against the gusts of a winter blizzard.
Misonne's mastery of the various printing processes that he utilized is evidenced by the fine balance between what has been photographically captured and what has been manipulated by the artist's hand in each print. To perfect this balance, Misonne created his own process, called mediobrome, combining bromide and oil printing.
The artist's monochromatic prints in both warm and cool tones convey a strong sense of place and time, as well as a sense of nostalgia for his familiar homeland. Whether the subject is a city street or a pastoral landscape, the perfect light carefully captured by Misonne creates a serene and comforting scene reminiscent of a dreamscape.
During his lifetime, Misonne's photographs were widely exhibited in juried shows in Europe and the United States. Today, his photographs can be found in the collections of such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the George Eastman Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.