Publisher
Information
- Hardcover
- 160 pages
- 92 colour photographs
- 200 x 278 mm
- ISBN 9782365114820
- French
- 2026
In his book Navire amiral, French photographer Stéphane Lavoué reveals the unexpected connections between two worlds that seem distant but are united by shared practices, traditions, and a common history. In the past, sailors would take over theaters during the winter, putting their mastery of knots, pulleys, and teamwork to use on stage. From these cross-pollinations, traditions were born that are still very much alive today.
In residence at the Comédie-Française since 2015, Stéphane Lavoué has explored the behind-the-scenes world of French public theater. Immersed in a windowless building, in the middle of the stage-bridge, or perched near the fly loft cluttered with cables and ropes, the photographer felt as though he were walking the gangways of a frigate and joining the crew of a nuclear submarine.
Driven by this intuition, Stéphane Lavoué then embarked on three iconic vessels of the French Navy: the frigate Bretagne, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Le Téméraire, and the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. There, too, gestures, rituals, and collective organization give rise to a kind of theatricality in everyday life. By interweaving these two bodies of work, Navire amiral creates a unique visual universe, straddling the line between reality and imagination.
To accompany this collection, Éric Ruf—an honorary member of the Comédie-Française and a stage sailor—has penned short stories and grand adventures that dot the pages of the book, inspiring the flagship to chart new courses.
Stéphane Lavoué (Mulhouse, 1976) lives and works in Paris. From Zinedine Zidane to Salman Rushdie, artists, intellectuals, politicians, actors, and athletes have all posed for Stéphane Lavoué’s camera. After graduating from the École supérieure du bois in 1998, he spent two years living in the Brazilian Amazon, working as a timber buyer for a French industrial group. Upon returning to Paris in 2001, he left the timber industry to pursue photography. Since then, he has alternated between collaborations with the French and international press, artistic projects and books (The Kingdom, Les Mois noirs, Les Enchanteurs published by Éditions 77, and Gantt published by Filigranes), and exhibitions (Paris Photo, Images Singulières in Sète, Portraits in Vichy, Les Champs Libres in Rennes, etc.). His work has been acquired and included in the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Maison européenne de la photographie, the Musée de Bretagne in Rennes, and the Musée de l’Armée in Paris. Stéphane Lavoué is an associate artist at the Comédie-Française from 2015 to 2025, under the direction of Éric Ruf. In 2022, he was selected as the winner of the major photography commission “La France sous leurs yeux” (France Through Their Eyes), initiated by the Ministry of Culture and led by the National Library of France (BN), and photographed young recruits in the French Army. Stéphane Lavoué received the Niépce-Gens d’Images Prize in 2018.
Texts (in French)
Éric Ruf
Exhibition
Les Ateliers des Capucins
Du 12 juin au 20 septembre 2026
Publisher
Information
- Hardcover
- 160 pages
- 92 colour photographs
- 200 x 278 mm
- ISBN 9782365114820
- French
- 2026
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