Lucien Briet's High-Altitude Photography Exhibition in Huesca

The Diputación de Huesca, in collaboration with the Lourdes municipality and the Hautes-Pyrénées department, presents an exhibition of Parisian photographer Lucien Briet (1860–1921). Curated by Enrique Carbó, the show opens May 29 at the Sala de Exposiciones de la Diputación de Huesca and runs until August 2. It features nearly 200 photographic reproductions, several albums with original albumen prints, maps, books, engravings, travel notebooks, and handwritten and printed documentation. Briet, a traveler, writer, and photographer, focused on the Pyrenees, with over three-quarters of his images taken on the Aragonese side. His other main focus was the Vallée de Gavarnie in Occitanie. The exhibition draws on the digitization, geolocation, and cataloging of 1,868 glass plates from his photographic archive, including 1,500 negatives in 18x24 cm format. Briet's work is largely held at the Château Fort-Musée Pyrénéen in Lourdes. His images, though documentary in purpose, are noted for precise framing, sober compositions, and exact viewpoints. Highlights include views of Ordesa y Monte Perdido and Sierra y Cañones de Guara, captured mainly in the first decade of the 20th century, often featuring local inhabitants. Briet began his literary career in Brussels after deserting the army, later served in Algeria organizing expeditions, and after inheriting from his father in 1887, dedicated himself to his own Pyrenean explorations.