Movement lies at the heart of Roger Schall's photography. Long before the emergence of humanist photography, he transformed the rhythm of modern life into a visual language, capturing the energy of cities, sport, travel and everyday gestures with remarkable spontaneity. L'Œil du Mouvement explored this defining dimension of his work.
Presented at Galerie DUREV from 30 March to 7 April 2024, L'Œil du Mouvement was the second exhibition organised by Schall Collection. Bringing together fifty rare photographs, it examined one of the most distinctive aspects of Roger Schall's oeuvre: his ability to translate movement into photographic form. Rather than freezing the world, Schall embraced its constant transformation, producing images that convey speed, rhythm and the vitality of modern life.
Whether photographing sporting events, bustling Parisian streets, railway stations or the great ocean liners of the 1930s, Roger Schall consistently sought to capture life in motion. Working with his Rolleiflex from the early 1930s onwards, he moved freely through the city, anticipating many of the visual principles that would later define humanist and street photography. The exhibition revealed how movement was not simply one of his subjects, but one of the fundamental principles of his photographic vision.
Following Ombre & Lumière, L'Œil du Mouvement further developed the Estate's curatorial programme by exploring a specific characteristic of Roger Schall's work. Together, these early exhibitions established an approach centred on thematic readings of the archive, offering new perspectives on the richness and modernity of his photographic legacy.