Famous for his engravings, illustrated books, paintings and drawings, Alfred Latour also created textiles for some of Lyon's leading fashion houses. Photography, however, played an essential part in his creative approach, and through his unique vision he was able to produce a body of work that was rediscovered in 2016 and exhibited for the first time at the Musée Réattu in 2018.

Organised by the Musée Réattu, in partnership with the Musée des Tissus et des Arts Décoratifs de Lyon and the Alfred Latour Foundation, the exhibition was born out of a wish to create a dialogue between Alfred Latour's photographic work and his practice as a designer of patterns for the textile industry. Here we discover a subtle interweaving of media: a print pattern designed for fashion originates from a photograph, while photographed still lifes inspire pencil drawings and produce the complex, repetitive shapes required for fabric printing.

Four themes were chosen to bring together the photographs and the textile works— nature and flora, lines and traces, black and white and colour, geometry and abstraction—and thus unveil the design genius of this protean artist.