Edouard Hannon

Édouard Hannon (1853-1931) was a Belgian engineer and photographer. At the age of twenty-three, he was hired by the Solvay group and sent to Dombasle on the outskirts of Nancy (Lorraine, France), the first factory to be built abroad. Considered as one of the group's most efficient managers, his sensitivity to social issues did not prevent him from being critical of the hierarchy. 

Today, the Hannon name is associated with the house and with photography. Indeed, Édouard Hannon tried his hand at pictorialism, which he pioneered in Belgium. He helped found the Belgian Photography Association, which worked to elevate the medium to the status of an art, and in 1894 won the gold medal at the first Paris-Club exhibition in Paris. 

The leading Belgian figure in the movement, his work demonstrates great technical mastery and an eye for both the sociological and documentary subjects he photographed on his travels. Social realism and ancient architecture mingle with industrial landscapes and sublimations of nature.