On the occasion of the Bicentennial of the Birth of Blessed Antoine Chevrier (1826–2026), and more specifically in the context of European Heritage Days (JEP 2026), the Prado Family presented a 9-panel exhibition dedicated to the few known photographs of its founder. The result of research by the Father Christian Delorme, a priest at the Prado in the Diocese of Lyon, this exhibition offers a glimpse into the history of these photographs and helps visitors understand how, for nearly 150 years, Antoine Chevrier’s photographic portraits have helped preserve his legacy.
Rare and Valuable Photographs
Antoine Chevrier (1826–1879) was reluctant to be photographed. As a result, very few photographs of him have survived, and each one holds special historical significance.
The exhibition features, among other things, portraits painted during Father Chevrier's lifetime, as well as a photograph taken after his death and various reproductions and iconographic depictions that have helped make his face known to this day. These images serve as valuable testimonies to an era, a man, and the institution he founded in the heart of the Guillotière neighborhood.
Beyond simply depicting a face, each photograph thus tells a part of the Prado’s history and helps preserve the memory of its founder.
The result of research conducted by Father Christian Delorme
This exhibition draws in particular on research conducted by the father Christian Delorme, a priest at the Prado in the Diocese of Lyon, who has dedicated himself to tracing the history of Antoine Chevrier’s various photographs.
His research had been presented in October 2023 as part of the symposiums and study days «Antoine Chevrier, founder of the Prado, seeker of Christ», held in Lyon and centered on the life and work of the Prado’s founder. The program for this event included, in particular, an academic symposium dedicated to Antoine Chevrier in the context of 19th- to 21st-century history, in collaboration with the LARHRA (Rhône-Alpes Historical Research Laboratory).
Father Christian Delorme’s presentation, titled «Photographs of Father Antoine Chevrier», has since been published in the anthology The Prado: Milestones in History (19th–21st Centuries), edited by’Olivier Chatelan, in the collection Christians and Society – Documents and Papers, No. 54. This volume, which brings together the papers presented at the symposium on the history of the Prado and its legacy, is available at the Prado; please feel free to contact us. The volume is also available online on Open Edition.
A heritage to preserve and pass on
Photography holds a special place in the collective memory: it preserves the image of a face, an era, and a story. In the case of Antoine Chevrier, the rarity of the original photographs lends them even greater cultural significance.
Through this exhibition, the Prado hopes to contribute to the the preservation and transmission of this photographic heritage, by allowing the public to discover the images that, for nearly 150 years, have contributed to the understanding and memory of its founder.
This initiative is fully in line with the Antoine Chevrier Year 2026 and the bicentennial of his birth. In particular, it builds on the efforts to showcase the photographic heritage that were undertaken during the European Heritage Days, September 19 and 20, 2026, focusing in particular on the theme of «Photographic Heritage.».
An invitation to take a fresh look at Antoine Chevrier’s face
Through these nine panels, visitors are invited to look at the few photographs we have left of Antoine Chevrier in a new light: not as mere portraits, but as fragile traces of history, bearing witness to a man, an era, and a body of work that continues to live on and be passed down to this day.
An exhibition offering a glimpse into the Prado's history.
