Le Grand Palais Catalogue déraisonné

Written in French.

Texts Tonino Benacquista. Photographs Raphaël Gaillarde. Preface Jean-Paul Cluzel.

This crazy catalogue is the result of two combined passions for the Grand Palais. For two years, photographer Raphaël Gaillarde walked his lens through this unique monument. He recreated the different...

Written in French.

Texts Tonino Benacquista. Photographs Raphaël Gaillarde. Preface Jean-Paul Cluzel.

This crazy catalogue is the result of two combined passions for the Grand Palais. For two years, photographer Raphaël Gaillarde walked his lens through this unique monument. He recreated the different atmospheres, focusing on the backstage of events and unusual details. His photographs are illustrated by the delightful texts of Tonino Benacquista, who opens the doors of the imagination by narrating fictional events inspired by the vastness and diversity of the Grand Palais. The intersection of these two artists' perspectives underlines the originality of the monument and offers readers a playful and visionary insight into the Grand Palais.

The authors:

Tonino Benacquista (texts). Born in 1961 in the Paris suburbs, he quickly left his film studies to devote himself to writing novels. He published his first in Gallimard's Black Series (La Maldonne des sleepings, La commedia des misés), then in the Blanche collection (Saga, Malavita). But he also explores other forms of narrative, such as theatre (Un contrat) and comics (Lucky Luke). In film, his collaboration with Jacques Audiard (Sur mes lèvres, De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté) earned him two Césars for best screenplay. He lives and works in Paris.

Raphaël Gaillarde (photographs). Photographer for the Gamma agency since 1977, he is mainly involved in magazine reporting. His work, which has won several awards at the World Press Photo, is published worldwide, notably in the National Geographic... In 2000, he obtained a Gold Visa at the Festival international du photojournalisme de Perpignan. He has published numerous books including, recently, Etranges animaux. Simul et singulis sur les coulisses de la Comédie- Française (texts by Denis Podalydès, ed. Actes Sud, 2010).