Youssef Nabil Exhibition at Musée d'Orsay Showcases Hand-Colored Photography

An exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris features the work of Franco-Egyptian artist Youssef Nabil, known for his distinctive hand-colored black-and-white photographs. The show, running from May 19 to September 13, 2026, highlights Nabil's use of an old silver-based coloring technique, which contrasts with contemporary digital filters. His images, characterized by velvety tones, luminous blues and whites, and gilded skin, evoke a nostalgic, imagined Mediterranean cinema and a glorified Egypt. Born in 1972, Nabil has developed a recognizable visual style since the 1990s, including self-portraits from behind and melancholic silhouettes. The exhibition also tells a personal story: Nabil first visited the museum in 1992 as a 20-year-old from Cairo, and now, three decades later, he is the first artist to occupy its Orientalist gallery. The five-section display interweaves his pieces with works from the museum's collection that influenced him, such as those by Puvis de Chavannes and Odilon Redon, and concludes with two videos reflecting his cinematic interests. The event underscores a full-circle moment of recognition for the artist, emphasizing his unique contribution to contemporary art through traditional methods.