Before he became a photographer at 24 François Kollar (born Senec, Slovakia, 1904 (formerly Szenc, Hungary); died Creteil, Paris, 1979) worked for the railways and at the Renault factories in Boulogne-Billancourt. His pictures of industry, both heavy and light (although the fashion industry’s gossamer touch is part of the illusion of glorious creation made from dream and desire rather than thick-wristed agriculture and workroom sweat) reveal his empathy with his subject.
Type dairy farm in Normandy
1950
Cima Factory, Cross
about 1954
Cima Factory, Cross
about 1954
Manufacturing vegetable mills, Factory Moulinex, Alençon
1950
“In Kollar’s images, the human measure is omnipresent; one almost never loses the sense of scale […]
with frequent contrasts between near and far, the intimate and the monumental” – Jean-François Chevrier, La France travaille: les vertus de l‘illustration
Manufacturing vegetable mills, Factory Moulinex, Alençon
1950
Stamping cutlery, Christofle, France
1957-1958
Rufisque, Bata shoes
1951
Staircase at Chanel
1937
The Muth model, Balenciaga
1930
The sources of energy. Alsthom: Fitting alternators flying Kembs. Alsthom Company. Belfort (Territoire de Belfort)
1931-1934
The sources of energy. Alsthom: Fitting alternators flying Kembs. Alsthom Company. Belfort (Territoire de Belfort)
1931-1934
Minors. The sorter remains tidy. Lens, Pas-de-Calais. Mining company of Lens
1931-1934
Minors. Cleaning lamps. Mining company of Lens. Lens (Pas-de-Calais)
1931-1934
Renault automobiles. On the one hand the worker dropped the sand. Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine)
Construction of large ships, Riveting plates of a ship’s deck, yard and workshops in Saint-Nazaire Penhoët
1931-1932
Mouth of St. Catherine tunnel, Sotteville-lés-Rouen
Sotteville-lés-Rouen, 1931- 1932
Advertising typewriter Hermes
1930
Study advertising for Magic Phono, Marie Bell portrait photomontage
1930
Garlic flower
1930
Eiffel Tower
1931
Portrait of François Kollar
See more of Kollar’s work at the Jeu de Paume galleries.
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