The Marseille History Museum has opened a major new photography exhibition showcasing over a century of the city's evolution through the work of three generations of the Detaille family. "Marseille Through the Eyes of the Detaille" features more than 200 photographs from the extensive Detaille collection, acquired by the municipality in 2021, offering visitors an unprecedented visual journey through the transformations of France's oldest city from the late 19th century to the present day.

The remarkable photographic legacy begins with the legendary Nadar, the pioneering photographer who first exhibited the Impressionist painters in his studio on Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. In 1897, at age 77, Nadar established a new photography studio on the Canebière in Marseille, formerly on Rue Noailles. The studio, equipped with glass skylights for natural light work and darkroom laboratories, attracted luminaries including the Lumière brothers, Sarah Bernhardt, and Émile Zola.

When Nadar aged and retired in 1902, he transferred the studio to Swiss photographer Frédéric Boissonnas, who placed his student Fernand Detaille (born in Amiens in 1875, died in Marseille in 1954) in charge. Fernand excelled at photojournalism, masterfully blending scenes of popular life with portraits of notable personalities. By 1910, he had become the sole owner of the studio. He traveled extensively throughout Provence, developed art publishing – a craft taught by his mentor Boissonnas – and, like Nadar before him with the Impressionists, opened his gallery to local artists.

Fernand's son Albert (1903-1996), trained at the Fine Arts school, succeeded his father around 1950. Albert, who would have been a painter had his father not been a photographer, brought a more artistic dimension to the work, focusing on landscapes and monuments while creating portraits of celebrities like Josephine Baker and Marcel Pagnol. In 1972, his son Gérard Detaille (born in 1948) took over the studio direction, preserving and promoting the family's photographic archive while continuing to document his era through the lens, developing panoramic and aerial photography techniques.

The exhibition draws from the vast Detaille collection, consisting of tens of thousands of images and an impressive collection of vintage cameras. The collection also includes archives from other photographers, such as glass plates by Adolphe Terris (1820-1899) from the 1860s. Terris created some of the exhibition's oldest photographs, including a spectacular 1861 image of the Notre-Dame de la Garde construction site, where crowds gathered to celebrate the resumption of construction after a two-year interruption. The statue of the "Bonne Mère" (Good Mother), which has watched over Marseille since 1864, had not yet crowned the basilica.

The thematic exhibition begins with display cases showcasing equipment used by Fernand and Albert, along with views of the Detaille studio. Photographs are organized by themes including the city's emblems like the Canebière and the Old Port, markets and forgotten trades, and Marseille during wartime. A particularly striking image shows the wreck of the steamship Cap Corse, sunk by the Germans and immortalized lying on its side across the Old Port in August 1944 to block access during the Liberation.

The exhibition also features portraits of artists like Fernandel and César, politicians like Gaston Defferre, and Marseille residents from different eras, occupying an entire wall. The Detaille lens captured the city's urban transformations, from the Joliette port to the construction of the MuCEM museum. One particularly striking 1960s photograph shows the incongruous aerial parking structure on Cours Honoré-d'Estienne-d'Orves, demolished in the late 1980s. This structure, unimaginable to those who never saw it, has been replaced by a pedestrian esplanade filled with café and restaurant terraces, now a tourist favorite emblematic of the Old Port district.

The Old Port theme proves particularly rich in historical imagery. Early 20th-century photographs capture fishermen with their nets, fish vendors on the quays, and the unloading of merchandise, including sacks overflowing with oranges larger than petanque balls. The images also show sailors balanced on bowsprits arranging sails, joyful swimming scenes, and various small trades that once thrived in the area.

Among the most poignant historical moments captured is the spectacular fire that ravaged the Nouvelles Galeries building on October 28, 1938. Built in 1894 on the Canebière, this vast glass-roofed building was the commercial attraction of downtown Marseille until the blaze destroyed shops and boutiques, permanently altering the neighborhood's activity. A rare photograph shows the building engulfed in flames, documenting a pivotal moment in the city's commercial history.

One particularly captivating image shows a steep street in the Panier district in 1920, with its cobblestones and laundry hanging from windows. In the photograph, taken by Fernand Detaille, the silhouette of the Bonne Mère can be seen on the opposite shore. The image features a small girl walking down the street, dressed in white and wearing a hat like antique dolls. This street, likely destroyed during World War II, is striking in its presence – capturing a moment from a century ago that feels simultaneously distant and immediate, unchanged yet completely transformed.

"Marseille Through the Eyes of the Detaille" runs until October 31, 2026, at the Marseille History Museum, located at 2 Rue Henri Barbusse (13001). The exhibition is free and open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 AM to 6 PM. The vast Detaille collection promises to reveal many more treasures, offering continued insights into both the evolution of Marseille and the art of photography over more than a century.