Albert Kahn (Marmoutier, 1860 – Boulogne-Billancourt, 1940), a prestigious banker of Jewish origin, and a prominent philanthropist and cultural promoter in early 20th-century Paris, conceived the creation of an immense photographic and film archive, supplied by the results of various international campaigns undertaken by film and photography teams, under his coordination and financing, across more than 50 countries (Afghanistan, Brazil, India, Israel, the West Bank, China, Croatia, Spain, Vietnam, Italy, Japan, Greece, and Germany).

This documentary archive comprises more than 72.000 autochrome plates (in this respect, the world's largest collection of color photographs), 4.000 stereoscopic plates, and 200.000 meters of 35mm film (mostly black and white, but also including early color examples). Only the 29 Wall Street Crash, which marked the beginning of the end for the banker's fortune, prevented these figures from multiplying to reach the global scale envisioned by its creator. The exhibition, curated by Alberto Ruiz de Samaniego y José Manuel MouriñoIt contains a wide selection of photographic work from The Planet Archives, with some of his best snapshots.

The images resulting from that project would serve as a safeguard for numerous spaces and communities that were already on the verge of extinction, as well as fostering new intercultural relationships. This aspiration, as Kahn hoped, would in turn lead to greater understanding and harmony among the various communities that would have access to them.

Albert Kahn's photographic archive currently enjoys great narrative relevance, based on its ambition to become a veritable iconic atlas of humanity, as well as on the aesthetic sensitivity and undeniable conceptual depth of its images. A photographic record of and for humanity.

[df-subtitle]Special Web [/df-subtitle]

This link will take you to a special website, created for this exhibition, which houses all the photographic and audiovisual materials of Albert Kahn. The Planet Archives.

[df-subtitle]Cycle in the Cine Estudio[/df-subtitle]

As a complement to the exhibition Albert KahnThe planet's archives, Cine Estudio projects a cycle with two films that map remote spaces from contrasting perspectives, between January 11 and 27. 

[df-subtitle]Guided tours of the exhibition[/df-subtitle]

Guided tours for private groups (with prior reservation)

El Círculo de Bellas Artes It offers guided tours for adults conducted by experts in Art History, for groups of up to 20 people.

Duration: 1 hour

Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Spanish Language 

Price: €50 per group + €3 per person (price of admission to the exhibition)

Individual guided tours (with prior reservation)

El Círculo de Bellas Artes It offers guided tours for adults conducted by experts in Art History, starting from 5 registered people.

Available days:

Friday, December 15th at 6:00 PM

Thursday, December 28th at 12:00 pm

Thursday, January 4th at 5:00 PM

Wednesday, January 10th at 12:00 pm 

Friday, January 19th at 5:30 p.m.

Duration: 1 hour

Language: Spanish 

Price: €8 per person · €6 for CBA members

Information and bookings For guided group and individual tours:

Monday to Friday from 9.00h to 14.00h

91 196 70 99

info@didark.es