Voir le temps en couleurs invites a reexamination of the history of photography through the lens of its greatest technical challenges, from its invention in the heart of the 19th century to the present day. Through three chapters — Revelation, The Instant, and Color — the exhibition brings together around one hundred works that have left a lasting mark on the medium’s history, from the invention of the camera obscura, the first form of reproduced image, to contemporary manipulations of light fixed on sensitive surfaces.

In a unique temporal interplay, the exhibition highlights four major figures in photography: Constantin Brancusi, Harold Edgerton, Saul Leiter, and Helen Levitt — all driven by the same idea: that making an image begins with mastering the material challenges of its medium.

This book is published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition presented at the Centre Pompidou-Metz from July 13 to November 18, 2024. The preface is written by Laurent Le Bon and Chiara Parisi, respectively President and Director of the Centre Pompidou-Metz. The book also includes an interview with Sam Stourdzé conducted by Christine Coste, originally published in L’Œil in September 2024.

Born in 1973, Sam Stourdzé is a specialist in contemporary imagery and in the relationships between art, photography, and cinema. He has curated numerous exhibitions and authored several key publications. After directing the Musée de l’Élysée in Lausanne from 2010 to 2014, he took over the Rencontres d’Arles festival, where for six years he worked to break down boundaries in photography by fostering dialogue with other disciplines. In 2020, he was appointed director of the Villa Medici in Rome.