Alfred Briquet
Galerie Pepe is pleased to present an exhibition of photographic works by photographer Alfred Briquet (b. 1833, Paris, FR). December 11th, 2024 - January 25th, 2025
"I came upon a boiler wallowing in the grass, then found a path leading up the hill. It turned aside for the boulders, and also for an undersized railway-truck lying there on its back with its wheels in the air. One was off. The thing looked as dead as the carcass of some animal. I came upon more pieces of decaying machinery, a stack of rusty rails. To the left a clump of trees made a thick shade, where dark things seemed to stir feebly. I blinked, the path was steep. A horn tooted to the right, and I saw the black people run. A heavy and dull detonation shook the ground, a puff of smoke came out of the cliff, and that was all. No change appeared on the face of the rock. They were building a railway. The cliff was not in the way of anything; but this objectless blasting was all the work going on.”
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Alfred Briquet’s photographs of Mexico’s first railroad line, inaugurated in 1873, reflect a nineteenth-century artistic shift toward redefining man’s relationship with nature. Like French artists who, inspired by portable equipment, the expansion of the railway and the technical innovation of photography, explored rural landscapes with a renewed commitment to naturalism, Briquet documented the transformation of Mexico’s countryside with a modern lens. His images, steeped in the pictorial traditions of earlier masters like Jacob van Ruisdael and Rembrandt, juxtapose the raw beauty of untouched landscapes with the relentless advance of industrialization. These photographs also evoke the idea of the myth of progress, where the romantic ideals of modernization and connectivity obscure the human and environmental costs of such development. By capturing the railroad’s incursion into the natural world, Briquet’s work aligns with broader artistic efforts to question the implications of modernity, blending admiration for technological innovation with an awareness of its profound impact on traditional landscapes and ways of life.
"I came upon a boiler wallowing in the grass, then found a path leading up the hill. It turned aside for the boulders, and also for an undersized railway-truck lying there on its back with its wheels in the air. One was off. The thing looked as dead as the carcass of some animal. I came upon more pieces of decaying machinery, a stack of rusty rails. To the left a clump of trees made a thick shade, where dark things seemed to stir feebly. I blinked, the path was steep. A horn tooted to the right, and I saw the black people run. A heavy and dull detonation shook the ground, a puff of smoke came out of the cliff, and that was all. No change appeared on the face of the rock. They were building a railway. The cliff was not in the way of anything; but this objectless blasting was all the work going on.”
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Alfred Briquet’s photographs of Mexico’s first railroad line, inaugurated in 1873, reflect a nineteenth-century artistic shift toward redefining man’s relationship with nature. Like French artists who, inspired by portable equipment, the expansion of the railway and the technical innovation of photography, explored rural landscapes with a renewed commitment to naturalism, Briquet documented the transformation of Mexico’s countryside with a modern lens. His images, steeped in the pictorial traditions of earlier masters like Jacob van Ruisdael and Rembrandt, juxtapose the raw beauty of untouched landscapes with the relentless advance of industrialization. These photographs also evoke the idea of the myth of progress, where the romantic ideals of modernization and connectivity obscure the human and environmental costs of such development. By capturing the railroad’s incursion into the natural world, Briquet’s work aligns with broader artistic efforts to question the implications of modernity, blending admiration for technological innovation with an awareness of its profound impact on traditional landscapes and ways of life.
Alfred Briquet, Salida del túnel No 15 (Cumbres de Maltrata), 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Locomotora de vapor tipo 2-6-0, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Puente del Chiquihuite, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Puente sobre pilotes, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista del Gran Puente de la Barranca del Infiernillo (Joya), 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista general del Puente de Metlac, tomado desde las altura que dominan la barranca, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.7 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista de la salida del Túnel No 9 (Barranca de Metlac), 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.7 x 26.2 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 5/16 in
Alfred Briquet, Puente de la Soledad, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista del Túnel No 5 (Barranca de Metlac), 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.4 x 26.4 cm, 8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista del Puente de Atoyac, Longitud 330 pies _ Altura 100 pies, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.5 x 26.1 cm, 8 1/16 x 10 1/4 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista del Puente de Metlac, Longitud 450 pies _ Altura 92 pies, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.4 x 26.1 cm, 8 x 10 1/4 in
Alfred Briquet, Puente del Atoyac, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista del viaducto de las Cumbres de Maltrata, Longitud 250 pies _ Altura 95 pies, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.4 x 26.1 cm, 8 x 10 1/4 in
Alfred Briquet, Sin título, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista del túnel No 2 Atoyac, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 26.3 x 20.4 cm, 10 3/8 x 8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista de los túneles Nos 6 y 7 (Barranca de Metlac), 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 26.3 x 20.7 cm, 10 3/8 x 8 1/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Puente de las Cumbres de Maltrata, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Entrada del Túnel No 15 (Cumbres de Maltrata), 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.7 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Estación de Puebla, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Barranca de la Joya / El Infiernillo, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Viaducto de las Cumbres de Maltrata, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.8 x 26.3 cm, 8 3/16 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista panorámica, tomada del vértice de las Cumbres, dominando Maltrata, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.2 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 5/16 in
Alfred Briquet, Puente de S Juan de Dios, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.2 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 5/16 in
Alfred Briquet, Sin título, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Vista del puente del Paso del Macho, Longitud 260 pies _ Altura 103 pies, 1872-1875, Artist stamp on mount, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.7 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet, Grúas del muelle inglés en Veracruz, 1872-1875, Albumen print mounted on board, 20.6 x 26.3 cm, 8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in
Alfred Briquet became a photographer in Paris in 1854. He taught photography at École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, the prominent French military academy. He closed his studio in Paris in 1865, but it is not certain when he started work in Mexico, however in 1872, he did receive a commission to record the construction of the Mexican National Railway (Ferrocarril Nacional Mexicano - FNM) line being built between Veracruz and Mexico City after which he gained the attention of President Porfirio Díaz and secured a number of commissions. He also published a series of photography books: Vistas Mexicanas, Tipos Mexicanos and Antigüedades Mexicanos. Following the Mexican Revolution of 1910 he no longer received any government contracts. His photos appeared in several books and albums among them we can mention "Mexico artístico y pintoresco" edited by Julio Michaud and "Mexico, Its Social Evolution" coordinated by the historian Justo Sierra.
Big thanks to Colección Acevedo Mansour for their support in organizing this exhibition.
Big thanks to Colección Acevedo Mansour for their support in organizing this exhibition.
Amsterdam 123 B, Col. Hipódromo CondesaMexico City, Mexico 06100