Unveiling Rimbaud's Journey: Discovering the Photographer-Poet at the French Embassy in Vienna
The French Embassy in Austria and the Institut français d'Autriche invite you to discover the artist Arthur Rimbaud in the light of this unknown chapter of his work. Read more about Arthur Rimbaud, the famous French poet, adventurer, and businessman. Today he is considered one of the most influential French poets.
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet, adventurer and businessman. Today he is considered one of the most influential French lyric poets. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons, Hugues Fontaine, Arthur Rimbaud photographe, éd. Textuel, 2019. ISBN 9782845977822. , Public domain
"I am leaving Europe. The sea air will burn my lungs, the lost climates will tan me," prophesied Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) in his work "A Season in Hell" (1873), is often used as a quote to illustrate Rimbaud's rebellious nature and his drive for freedom and adventure. It also illustrates his rejection of bourgeois society and his desire for an unconventional life outside of Europe.
The quotation in question expresses Rimbaud's longing for change and departure. It shows his turning away from Europe and his previous life. Rimbaud symbolically prophesies that the sea air will burn his lungs and the lost climate will tan him. It expresses his search for new experiences and a different way of existence, far from the conventions and society of his time.
Having abandoned poetry, Rimbaud left Europe in the early 1880s to settle in East Africa. But the artist had not yet spoken his last word. Far from the cliché of the exiled poet, he transformed himself into an arms dealer in the service of King Menelik (1844-1913), the emperor of Ethiopia. As a photographer, he tried to present himself through a series of self-portraits and landscape photographs. After becoming an explorer and trader, he exchanged the pen for the camera and planned to publish an ethnographic work about his stay in "Abyssinia", the former name of Ethiopia.
In 2019, curator Hugues Fontaine discovered in the photographic collection of the Weltmuseum Vienna three photographs taken on the African continent and attributed to Rimbaud by the Austrian ethnographer Philipp Paulitschke (1854-1899). On the occasion of the bilingual conference "Rimbaud, Photographer - A Find at the Weltmuseum", held at the Weltmuseum Vienna on Thursday, June 7, in the presence of the French Ambassador Gilles Pécout, Hugues Fontaine had the honor to introduce us to the photo collection of the Weltmuseum. The curator of analog and digital media, Dr. Hanin Hannouch, also explained the origins of the photo collection in an imperial context. The evening continued with the opening of the exhibition in the majestic Globus Hall of the French Embassy in Austria.
On the occasion of Foto Wien 2023, the French Embassy in Austria and the Institut français d'Autriche invite you to (re)discover the artist in the light of this unknown chapter of his work. The current exhibition is not limited to portraits of the poet but also provides insight into Rimbaud's photographic ambitions, in which he wanted to exchange the "alchemy of the word" for the craft of the image.
The exhibition "Rimbaud, the Explorer - Photographs of a Poet-Vagabond" will take place at the French Embassy in Austria, more precisely at Technikerstraße 2, 1040 Vienna. Guided tours will also be offered, on Friday, June 23, from 14:00 to 15:00 and on Tuesday, June 27, from 17:00 to 18:00. To register for the tours, email culturel@institutfr.at.