Louis-Rémy Robert French, 1811-1882
Born in Paris, Louis-Rémy Robert was trained by his father as a painter on porcelain and glass, eventually succeeding him as chief in charge of the workshops of painters and gilders at the Manufacture de Sèvres. He developed an active interest in photography, probably due in part to his friendship with Henri-Victor Regnault, who was appointed director at Sèvres in 1852, and whom Robert succeeded in 1871.
Robert's views are frequently more traditional and classically inclined than those of Regnault. His well-known series on the architecture, gardens, and art of Versailles, published by Louis-Désire Blanquart-Évrard as Souvenirs de Versailles (1853), reflects an appreciation of the heritage in French culture and design, traditions with which Robert was familiar, on a smaller scale, through his background in porcelain and glass decoration.
Robert was also a technical innovator, a friend of the printers Blanquart-Évrard and Alphonse Louis Poitevin, and served as a judge for the competition originated by the Duc de Luynes to further research into the longevity of photographic prints. A member of the Société française de photographie, Robert exhibited his work in Paris, Brussels, and London between 1855-62 and lectured on photography at the École des Ponts et Chausées from 1858-72. T.W.F.
