Nicéphore Niépce Museum was named after Nicéphore Niépce, one of the inventors of modern photography. The museum was founded in 1861, showing personal objects and the first camera by Niépce. The museum’s objective is telling the story of photography in all its aspects, from the technical and artistic aspects to the social and popular use of the medium.

The Museum’s collections comprises almost six thousand photographic devices and optical objects, and more than three million images captured on all kinds of materials. The collection is divided in 19 different themes, ranging from different techniques to studio portraiture, architecture, erotica and a selection covering reportage and photojournalism. A selection of works is on permanent display in eleven exhibition rooms, a total area covering 1500 square metres.

The museum published a number of books on different historical and contemporary subjects and hosts several workshops each week.

Chief curator: François Cheval