GALLOIS Eugène (EN)

Biographical Article

The biography of Eugène Gallois is incomplete. We know that he was born on May 11, 1856, at 41, rue Meslay, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. He was the son of an architect, Marie Paul Gallois, and of Marie Gabrielle Amélie Bresson, without profession, who had been married for almost two years (AP, 5Mi1 896).

After studying at the collège Stanislas, he began to travel the world (Curinier Ch.-E., 1899, p. 86). His works and articles make it possible to reconstruct his life, and depict his many travels and adventures. Sources describe him above all as a publiciste (an archaic term, designating the profession of journalist), a prolific writer, and an educational speaker, an explorer and an established painter. His contemporaries raved about him, praising the orator’s wit. Eugène Gallois could be likened in this sense to an early reporter.

Passion for Travel

Eugène Gallois showed a distinct passion for travel, which reading him, seemed to constitute a real way of life. In 1895, he crossed the Caucasus, by the route of Georgia, leading him from Tiflis to Vladikavkaz, passing through Erivan and Mount Ararat. He made an excursion to the Gorges du Tarn and the Causses in 1896. In the winter of 1896-1897, he ventured into the volcanoes of Java. A world tour brought him closer to the Far East, taking him to India, Burma, and Indochina. In 1899, Eugène Gallois obtained a free mission to carry out an economic study of the colony from the Governor General of Indochina, Paul Doumer (1857-1932; governor from 1897 to 1902). Asia was considered the "cradle of the world" and "home to civilisations prior to our own" (Gallois E., 1903, p. V). After Central Asia and passing through the kingdom of Tamerlane, he went to Asia Minor and the Levant. Africa also attracted his attention, and he made an excursion to the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba (current Yemen) in 1898. He was also interested in the Iberian Peninsula in 1899. Another mission, issued by the Ministry of Colonies, allowed him  to visit the French establishments located in Oceania in 1901, and more particularly in New Caledonia, which earned him membership in the brotherhood of the Pioneers of Oceania (la confrérie des Pionniers de l’Océanie), an association created in 1909, of which he became the vice president. In 1902, the Commercial Geography Society of Paris (La Société de géographie commerciale de Paris) awarded him the La Pérouse Medal for this last trip. In 1904, he explored China and gave his "impressions" of Japan (Gallois E., 1904e). In 1908, the Ministry of Public Instruction entrusted him with another mission in Madagascar.

Forms of Travel

Thanks to a "considerable fortune,” judiciously used, as reported in the Annales coloniales (1916), Eugène Gallois could afford to finance his own expeditions, at his own initiative or under the cover of an official but independent mission. His freedom of action was all the greater: he could reconcile travel for pleasure with the needs of French imperialism. Travel can be considered on several levels: for entertainment, touristic curiosity, scientific knowledge, and economic interest.

His involvement in various sports associations confirms the physical and playful aspect that he accorded them. The experienced traveler was notably a founding member of the Touring-Club de France (1898) and the Club alpin français (1899). In addition, he appreciated high-level sport, appearing on the jury of the fourth International Ski Competition in Eaux-Bonnes, in the Basses-Pyrénées, where he chaired the section "International Jump, Amateurs".

The voyages were also creative and gave rise to various artistic achievements. During his excursions, Eugène Gallois engaged in the exercise of drawing and photography, which he linked to a civic duty, a need for information and documentation, as opposed to pure amusement. While in Greece in 1899, he described his occupations to the explorer and geographer Joseph Eysséric (1860-1932): "We draw, we sketch, we paint, but without excess, because it is good simply to let live” (bibliothèque Inguimbertine, Ms. 2495).

Eugène Gallois was not a simple "globe-trotter", content to bring back travel souvenirs, as the geographer Numa Broc (2003) seems to think. On the contrary, for Gallois traveling favoured French expansion (1899c, p. 5-6) and the arguments he developed should invite the future reader to follow him.

A Recognised Geographer on the Job

Through his lived experience, Eugène Gallois acquired the aura of a geographer and thereby a legitimacy in his words, to which he alluded frequently. He thus became closer to the geographical societies, at whose meetings he shared his travels. The geographical societies of Paris, Lille, Dunkirk (1904-1908), Bordeaux, and Marseilles counted him among their members. He also joined the Commercial Geography Society of Paris (la Société de géographie commerciale de Paris) and was a member of its Board of Directors in 1913.

His writings were not intended to be "scientific", but rather educational. They were about “instructing by entertaining” (Gallois E., 1899b, p. 12). This was his motto; he aimed to reach a wide audience. His monographs resemble compendiums of acquired knowledge, like travel guides. But they are not simply diaries of road trips, but "serious stud[ies], carefully documented", of the countries visited (Gallois E., 1899b, p. 9). His articles published in the Bulletin de la Société de géographie were intended for a more informed public and always presented his conclusions on the "things seen". The images most often serve the discourse. Regarding the British Indies, Eugène Gallois expressed the "desire to fix [his] memories", to "make a lasting work", and thereby even to relativise these "fantastic visions [conceived] following many readings concerning this marvellous country” (1899b, p. 7). Other means of enhancing this iconographic production were also employed, based on ephemeral devices, such as exhibitions and light projections during conferences. The correspondence between the image and the text responds to a social imperative for the explorer, who conceived a utilitarian geography.

The Conception of a Utilitarian Geography

The idea of ​​geography as useful to his country, fruitful in terms of economic benefits and the search for outlets, seems to motivate Eugène Gallois' travels and investments. Getting to know a country or a region better and transmitting this knowledge, acquired onsite, reflects a desire to extend French influence in the world and to stimulate the living forces of the nation, to encourage them to travel and invest in foreign places. Eugène Gallois was part of this French imperialist momentum, which was particularly significant at the beginning of the 20th century, and enriched the colonial sciences with his works, conferences, and exhibitions. On November 14, 1900, this "cicerone", as he was called, thus gave a lecture "in the name of modern colonial France", at the "Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne", at 28, rue Serpente, under the presidency of the geographer and Professor Marcel Dubois (1856-1916), who inaugurated the exhibition on France in Asia.

Eugène Gallois participated in the launch of the review L'Expansion française coloniale in March 1900, and became a member of the directing committee and of the Society for Industrial, Commercial, Maritime and Financial Studies that ensued. He also collaborated with the Annales coloniales. In January 1914, he was elected evaluator to the assembly presiding over the Revue des questions coloniales et maritimes, an organ of the Society for Colonial and Maritime Studies. He appears in the list of members of the Ligue de la patrie française, published in Le Gaulois, January 8, 1899. He was a founding and life member of the Comité des colonies française in 1910. His investment in the construction of the French colonial empire was great and his contributions numerous. His membership in the Society for Colonial and Maritime Studies demonstrates his desire to promote and facilitate exchanges between the colonies and the cities. He proposed with Vice-Admiral Besson "that the French government promote the creation of direct steam navigation services between our ports and those of the South American Pacific coast through the Panama Canal. That it also promote the creation of a direct postal service by French steamers between France and Tahiti, a service currently provided by an American company via San Francisco” (Paris J., 1914, p. 4).

Anxious to spread his knowledge to a wide audience, he made investments in colonial sciences that are confirmed by the legacy of his many drawings, watercolours, photographs, and archives at the Bibliothèque nationale and at the Société de géographie de Paris, recorded in 1928. He also bequeathed 5,000 francs for the foundation of an annual prize at the French Academy. Thus, at his death, the Annales coloniales lauded the work of a generous patron (1906).

The Collection

Eugène Gallois is recognised as an active populariser in the field of geography and colonial sciences. His photographs, watercolours, drawings and other sketches are most often part of an oral or written discourse. This "artistic" production shows a didactic vocation as well as a rhetorical dimension.

Art at the Service of Colonial Expansion

Eugène Gallois combined artistic and documentary exhibitions. He took part in many artistic circles, such as that of rue Volney in Paris and joined artistic associations, such as the Société des peintres de montagnes, supported by the Club alpin français. He was sensitive to the effects of colour and to the plays of light, its ability to enchant the eye, as he emphasises in his many works.

He thus contributed to colonial discourse and received many invitations owing to the beauty of the images and the the fact that his art supported the French colonial enterprise. In this way, he filled the walls of the Musée commercial de l’Office colonial, known as the galerie d’Orléans, at Palais-Royal. The Geographical Society of Paris presented his work resulting from his various travels on several occasions in its premises at 184, boulevard Saint-Germain. These events testify to the recognition of his talent as an artist and his contribution to colonial propaganda.

The Question of Photographic Practice

Eugène Gallois did not address his photographic or pictorial practice in his writings. It seems that completeness and spontaneity were the rule, the images finding their meaning a posteriori. It was as if the process was being erased in favour of the iconographic result. The traveller reaped a veritable harvest of images during his wanderings while his gaze remained on the lookout. The photographer captured the subject by often multiplying the points of view, which resulted in an all-encompassing and exhaustive vision of reality.

Visits to towns and their monuments took place in methodical fashion, "brush or pencil and camera always in hand" (Gallois E., 1899b, p. 10). Moreover, Eugène Gallois did not work alone. He usually took three cameras with him. However, his works do not mention the names of his travelling companions. The archives are also silent on this count (ANOM, MIS 68).

From around Asia to around the World

From 1898 to 1904, Eugène Gallois undertook a tour of Asia, which was to become a world tour. His first intention was "to give a close account of the English pursuits in Tibet". He was then to continue his journey in Korea and Manchuria (Gallois E., 1905b, p. 215). But the Russo-Japanese War (February 8, 1904 – September 5, 1905) led him to modify his plans. He therefore transformed his tour of Asia into a tour of the world. After traveling along the Chinese coast, where he studied the respective influence of the great European powers and the United States in China, he undertook a "tour of inspection of the great water route of China", "this marvellous land of incomparable fertility watered by the gigantic river” (Gallois E., 904a, p. 404). In describing the Blue River, the vocabulary is in the superlative register. The gaze that he imposes on China is full of astonishment, claiming its description to be impossible. He never ceases to point out the "unimaginable" character of these landscapes: "One cannot form an idea, either of this unparalleled land which leaves far behind the famous Nile valley and gives up to three annual harvests, nor of the life which reigns there, if it has not been seen" (1904a, p. 405).

Gallois traveled the Middle Yangtze (Changjiang [長江]), from Hankou (漢口) to Yichang (宜昌), on the Olry, at the invitation of its captain, Louis Audemard (1865-1955). He then continued his exploration alone, by his own means, in the Yichang Gorges, the photographs of which depict its impressive flow almost anatomically. The eye is carried away by reality. The gaze literally sails over the water.

The Descent of the Yangtze in the Gallois Collection of the Bibliothèque nationale

This collection, brought together under the title "Descent of the Yangtze", consists of 28 photographs, developed on aristotype paper from silver gelatin bromide glass negatives. Most are captioned on the back. Eugène Gallois is referred to as the "presumed photographer". While the photographs found bear the indication of belonging to the Gallois collection, there is nothing to confirm that he is the maker (BnF, inv. EN1-122-BOITE FOL A), so their attribution is a problem.

Some of these images have been edited into postcards (University of Bristol, Historical Photographs of China, Plants, Cornell Collection). One of the photographs in the corpus is a reproduction of a work by Teh-Kee, a Chinese photographer living on the banks of the Blue River, whose engravings can be found in an article dealing with the military presence on the river, published in number 11 of the fourth series of the magazine Armée et Marine (1902). The photographer focuses on the lifeblood of the river, the boaters, who tow the junks and other buildings in the rapids. Research on the identification of the photographs of this fund is still in progress.

The Iconographic Treatment of the Yangtze

The iconographic set (BnF, inv. EN1-122-BOITE FOL A) dealing with the Yangtze is relatively homogeneous and we can assume that it comes from the same author. The gaze turns out to be compulsive and encompassing. The photographer breaks down the landscape, which tumbles down before his eyes. The eye seems to be carried away by reality. The gaze captures both the shores and the eddies of the river, making a sketch that dissects the passage of its steep gorges.

For Eugène Gallois the patriot, France occupied first place in China, relegating England to a subordinate position. The Red River and the Xi jiang (西江) Valley were within France's sphere of influence, carried by the promises of the Yunnan Railway (雲南). On the other hand, he deplored the absence of a stronghold, of effective occupation of the territory, as England was able to do in Hong Kong. Only the Guangzhouwan (廣州灣), which was leased by the Chinese in 1898, was French territory for a period of 99 years. Furthermore, the Yangtze is considered by Gallois as a privileged artery, where Western influence was taking a growing place. The photographs also evoke the French military presence. The city of Hankou, this "new quasi-European city" (Gallois E., 1905b, p. 216) is represented by means of a panorama, composed of photographs placed end to end.

An aesthetic dimension emerges from this production. The tracings attest to a work of the photographic image a posteriori, and reveal an aestheticisation of the forms. The elaboration of two panoramas (BnF, EST, VZ 1369, Dossier "Chine"), whether the reconstitution of the flow of the Yichang gorges, a veritable iconographic topos, or the deployment of Hankou, shows a desire to restore a formal continuity of the gaze. The amplitude deployed embraces the totality of reality, and captures its striking and significant aspects.

While occupied by his work on Japan, Gallois evoked a simple "glance at China" (Gallois E., 1904e, p. 5); his photographs attest to a fine technique of observation, or at least a desire to collect the different aspects of the Blue River. The eye works the landscape, alternating global views, zooms on the meandering of the river, and the steep parade of the gorges, perceived in a subtle levelling of the planes.

This corpus also shows an effort to caption these images on the part of their author or collector. He strives to identify the places, to give details on the point of view adopted, the conditions on the river at the time of the shooting. In addition to these technical considerations, he supplements his views with historical comments, making it possible to document what the image shows. A certain rigour thus emerges, not only in the shooting, but also in the review of the images. In some comments, the photographer's feelings surface when passing the rapids. The look is thus sensitive, sometimes immersive. The author delivers through his photographs a visual impression of reality, resulting from experience, or captured from a distance. He offers an internal and external view of navigation, placing himself both as a passenger on the boat and as a witness on the shore.

If the denomination of photographic reportage here is anachronistic, we are getting closer to it, the collection presenting a sort of visual chronicle of the descent of the Yangtze, the life of the river, and its urban surroundings, which was then relatively little present.

Eugène Gallois gave numerous lectures at the Commercial Geography Society of Paris, accompanied by photographic projections, veritable "pictorial descriptions" (Gallois E., 1905a, p. 141), an evocation “both scholarly and artistic of the countries that he had passed through.” He asserted himself in the eyes of his audience as a "consummate artist" (Mabyre M., Lasseray C., 1900, p. 708), who knew how to handle the lens as well as the brush or the pencil and the pen. For Gallois, art and science went hand in hand.