Jean-Claude Gautrand, a major French photographer, was also an exhibition curator, journalist and photography historian. His connection with the Musée Réattu dates back to 1970, the year Rencontres d'Arles was founded, and he began showing his work there in 1971. For almost fifty years, he was a tireless witness to the festival, gathering exceptional archives that were donated in 2022 by his wife, Josette Gautrand, to the Musée Réattu's research and documentation centre.

This exhibition is a dual one: Jean-Claude Gautrand, as a photographer—with over 350 photographs from 1961 to 2010 belonging to the collections of the Musée Réattu, the Rencontres d'Arles and, above all, Josette Gautrand's personal collection—and Jean-Claude Gautrand, as a key observer of the history of photography in Arles.

His series, whether they feature simple graphics such as Métalopolis, powerful images such as L'Assassinat de Baltard, conceptual works such as Le Galet, or intimate, painterly works as Le Jardin de mon père, all testify to the photographer's talent and itinerary. The Musée Réattu will thus be hosting both an artistic and a historical exhibition, as well as a heartfelt and unique tribute from the City of Arles and the Rencontres d'Arles.