Valérie Castera: “Jean Gilletta made the Côte d'Azur a legend”

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How did Jean Gilletta start in photography?

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Born in 1856 in Levens, a village in the hinterlands of Nice, into a family of farmers, he decided at a young age to move to Nice. On his way, he met the photographer Jean Walburg de Bray, who had left his Paris studio to capture the sunlit landscapes of the South. He captured this new Eden while traveling in his horse-drawn vehicle equipped with a photographic chamber. Each of his shots, made on glass plates, was developed on site. Jean Gilletta was in turn fascinated by this medium, and Walburg de Bray agreed to train his eye. Subject, frame, and light soon held no secrets for the young pupil. A few years later, Walburg de Bray settled in Cannes, and Jean Gilletta opened his own photography studio in Nice in 1880. With his camera securely positioned on his famous Dion Bouton tricycle, he scoured the coastal paths and deep valleys of the hinterland to reveal the most picturesque images.

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What did he photograph?‍

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During the Belle Époque, vacationing on the Riviera became immensely important thanks to the arrival of the railway, a project championed by Napoleon III who foresaw the incredible tourist potential of this paradisiacal land. From then on, Jean Gilletta continuously documented this cosmopolitan high society composed of Anglo-Saxons, Russians, Austrians, etc., who recreated a genuine community here. The photographer witnessed the construction of incredible palaces like the Carlton and Le Majestic in Cannes, and the Negresco, the Regina, the Alhambra, and the Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice. These establishments—springing up as quickly as mushrooms—provided lodging for residents and competed with the Society of Sea Baths of Monaco, then managed by François Blanc, who had already built the casino and various luxury hotels in the Principality. Jean Gilletta met the most prestigious architects of his era. Dalmas, Niermans, or Dikansky, to name a few, each built a significant number of homes or buildings along the coastal strip. The photographer also covered all the social and sporting events: the arrival of French President René Coty, car races and regattas, tennis tournaments... Capturing operas, museums, theaters, he took the pulse of the emergence of the arts. Inspired by the mountain races of the Knight Victor de Cessole, an alpinism enthusiast, Jean Gilletta in turn climbed the highest peaks and helped launch the fashion for winter sports on the Côte d'Azur. His photographs were appreciated by locals, tourists, and the communities he regularly worked with. His business thrived so quickly that he soon hired his two brothers and entrusted them with the operation of the studio and order management. Thus, "Gilletta brothers" was born. As the designated photojournalist of the Riviera, he relentlessly documented the profound transformations of the Côte d'Azur for fifty years.

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What was the great idea that made him famous?‍

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When Jean Gilletta attended the International Exhibition in Nice in 1884, postcards were already very popular, but no one had yet thought of mass-publishing photographs of the region! From this simple piece of cardboard, he made it the best ambassador of the Riviera. The company opened a bookstore-stationery on the main artery of Nice, formerly Avenue de la Gare, now Avenue Jean-Médecin, and sold all of Jean's production there. The numerous photographic documents, first printed in black and white and later in color, conveyed the image of a territory with incomparable panoramas, thus contributing to the myth-making of the Côte d'Azur. Jean Gilletta’s strength was photographing everything: the bustling activity of large cities as well as the daily life of the hinterland hamlets. Making sure to forget no one, from common folk, market gardeners, fishmongers, to illustrious crowned heads, his humanistic and universalist gaze captured all of the history and contemporaneity of his region. After his death in 1933, his nephew Louis continued his photographic work in a different manner, adopting a lighter approach. His daughter, Janine, married Gilbert Grisoni who, along with his brother Claude, bought out his father-in-law’s company. In 2000, the Nice-Matin press group acquired Gilletta, then in 2022, sold the company to a new shareholder, Norea, a major player in the luxury hotel industry.

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What's new with Gilletta Editions?‍

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The house explores the southeast in all its forms—artistic, historical, touristic, environmental, literary, gastronomic, and sporting—and a youth department was established in 2016. About fifteen titles, including reprints, are published annually. Publishing books in the region today is part of a commitment to keep history alive and transmit a heritage that continues to reinvent itself. It's a significant challenge because it's necessary to rekindle readers' pleasure in reading! Nonetheless, the house's bestseller, the book of 106 recipes by Hélène Barale, the most authentic Niçoise cook, has sold nearly 40,000 copies since its first edition in 2006. While photography is part of our DNA, we explore illustration with equal joy. There are many talents around us, and whether illustrating for youth or an adult universe, notably with Éric Garence, these are always exciting adventures we experience with our authors. We are now evolving our publications to new reading formats, with both podcasts and video supports, and why not also open up to graphic novels and comics, where the image remains sovereign and the text essential? In homage to our founder's magnificent work, we are proud to offer a photo library (http://jeangilletta.com) entirely dedicated to Jean Gilletta’s work, allowing for custom prints among the thousands of images that have immortalized our luminous Riviera.

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Pictures: © Edition Gilletta