© Norbert Ghisoland

Miroir d’une époque : les portraits de Norbert Ghisoland

EN At the beginning of the 20th century, Norbert Ghisoland opened a photography studio in Frameries, in the Borinage, and worked in a chamber under a skylight, using natural light. Under his attentive and tender gaze, a whole people parades. Alone or in groups, tens of thousands of people pass in front of his lens: bourgeois, miners, soldiers, religious figures, athletes, people of all ages, and sometimes dogs. Norbert directs the poses, whether for a full-length portrait or an identity photograph, in front of a trompe-l'œil backdrop or a white background, with infinite grace. There is much softness and emotion. They sit or stand, their hands intertwined or on their shoulders, their faces serious. They do not smile. They come from the Borinage. During his 37 years of labor, he took over 90,000 photographs on glass plates. He leaves us with an exceptional and poignant testimony of his contemporaries during the era of coal and mining.

FR Au début du XXe siècle, Norbert Ghisoland ouvre un studio de photographe à Frameries, dans le Borinage, et travaille à la chambre sous une verrière, en lumière naturelle. Sous son regard attentif et tendre, tout un peuple défile. Seuls ou en groupes, des dizaines de milliers de gens passent devant son objectif : des bourgeois, des mineurs, des militaires, des religieux, des sportifs, des gens de tous âges, des chiens parfois. Norbert dirige les poses, pour un portrait en pied ou pour une photographie d’identité, devant un décor en trompe-l’œil ou un fond blanc, avec une grâce infinie. Beaucoup de douceur et d’émotion. Ils sont assis ou debout, les mains entrecroisées ou sur l’épaule, les visages graves. Ils ne sourient pas. Ils viennent du Borinage. Durant ses 37 années de labeur, il réalise plus de 90.000 photographies sur plaques de verre. Il nous laisse, sur ses contemporains à l’époque des mines et du charbon, un témoignage exceptionnel et poignant.

NL At the beginning of the 20th century, Norbert Ghisoland opened a photography studio in Frameries, in the Borinage, and worked in a chamber under a skylight, using natural light. Under his attentive and tender gaze, a whole people parades. Alone or in groups, tens of thousands of people pass in front of his lens: bourgeois, miners, soldiers, religious figures, athletes, people of all ages, and sometimes dogs. Norbert directs the poses, whether for a full-length portrait or an identity photograph, in front of a trompe-l'œil backdrop or a white background, with infinite grace. There is much softness and emotion. They sit or stand, their hands intertwined or on their shoulders, their faces serious. They do not smile. They come from the Borinage. During his 37 years of labor, he took over 90,000 photographs on glass plates. He leaves us with an exceptional and poignant testimony of his contemporaries during the era of coal and mining.

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