Rural

During the 1990s and 2000s, Raymond Depardon crisscrossed agricultural France with his 6 x 9 view camera. From this exploration of the rural world, he made black-and-white photographs that tell the story of the land, the people, manual labour, the isolation and fragility of small farms, but also the beauty of the French countryside.
“These men and women who lived and persisted in cultivating these desolate lands were sages, philosophers, heroes, ahead of the impending, inevitable diminution. This political and ideological shock was a driving force for my project.” Raymond Depardon