Léonard Misonne

Léonard Misonne (French: [leɔnaʁ mizɔn]; 1 July 1870 – 14 September 1943) was a Belgian pictorialist photographer. He is known for his landscapes and street scenes with atmospheric skies.

Léonard Misonne
Born	(1870-07-01)1 July 1870 Gilly, Belgium
Died	14 September 1943(1943-09-14) (aged 73) Gilly, Belgium
Known for	Photography
Movement	Pictorialism
Spouse	Valentine Lambin ​ (m. 1906)​

Early life

Born to a wealthy family in Gilly, Belgium in 1870, Léonard Misonne was one of many children of Adèle Pirmez and lawyer and industrialist Louis Misonne.^[1][2] He studied Greek and humanities in Charleroi^[3][1] before going to the Université catholique de Louvain where he got a degree in mining engineering.^[4] However, he did not become a mining engineer in the long term.^[3][5][a]

Photography

Returning from the market, 1910s

Misonne is best known for his atmospheric photographs of landscapes and street scenes, with light as a key feature,^[6] and as a pioneer of pictorialism.^[5][7] According to the Directory of Belgian Photographers, "Misonne’s work is characterised by a masterly treatment of light and atmospheric conditions. His images express poetic qualities, but sometimes slip into an anecdotal sentimentality."^[4] He was nicknamed "the Corot of photography".^[8][9]

Misonne devoted himself to photography from 1896,^[1] joining the Belgian Photography Association in 1897.^[10][5] He became a leading light in pictorialism, frequently exhibiting his photographs at exhibitions.^[4][3] He also did slide shows.^[5] Much of his photography was in Belgium and the Netherlands,^[8] but he also visited London, France, Germany and Switzerland. The German occupation of Belgium during World War II greatly restricted his photography.^[5]

Techniques

Misonne would often photograph things that were strongly illuminated from behind, producing a halo effect.^[10] He would also retouch the lighting effects in his photographs,^[8] experimenting with and using many techniques, such as the Fresson process and later the bromoil and mediobrome processes.^[9][11][4] He also invented the "flou-net" and "photo-dessin" processes.^[7][10][3]

Quotes

The subject is nothing, light is everything^[12][8][13]

The sky is the key to the landscape^[10][14]

Personal life

Misonne married Louise Valentine Lambin in 1906, and they had several children.^[15][b] He supported himself with the family fortune.^[7]

Misonne was a keen cyclist, winning some races.^[7]

Misonne suffered severely from asthma throughout his life, and died in Gilly in 1943.^[5][8]

Bibliography

• Tableaux photographiques, by Léonard Misonne, 1927^[1][16]

Gallery

• 
  By the mill, 1910s
• 
  At sunset
• 
  Rainy day, 1930s
• 
  Exit from Namur station
• 
  Waterloo Place, London, 1899
• 
  Tree in the mist, 1910s
• 
  Strolling with a parasol, 1910s
• 
  Rainy street with tram in Brussels, 1937

Notes

1. Sources differ on whether he actually worked as a mining engineer at all
2. Some sources spell his wife's name as Labin, but this article assumes that the spelling in the genealogy site is correct