b. 1818; d. 1882
The French government, having made the Daguerreotype process free to the world, was quick to make use of photography, and one of its first actions, in 1851, was to assign five photographers to conduct a survey of monuments and buildings of architectural significance. Le Secq was one of these, others including Bayard and Le Gray.
Le Secq's photographs include images of the cathedrals at Rheims and Chartres. Some of his other work (including an illustrated guide to Amiens) reveals him to have been an artist of considerable delicacy.
© Robert Leggat, 1999.