Personal story

My mother took this picture one day when she managed to get all the children she took care of as a child-minder together. This flower bed, which no longer exists, was at the Research Centre. We lived right next to the Palace, so the park was our playground. We had treehouses all over the place, near Marie-Antoinette’s Estate and behind the Grand Trianon!

I have loved photography since I was little. When Presidents came to visit, I would rent lenses and hide in waiting. When I walked my dog, I took pictures of the park. In 1978, after the terrorist attack at the Palace, they asked me to come and take pictures because nobody else could. Later, Mr Van der Kemp, the curator, made me an offer to become an Estate photographer. I studied at the Louis Lumière School and then I was hired. I have worked at the Palace ever since.

Christian