Léonard Misonne (French:[leɔnaʁmizɔn]; 1 July 1870 – 14 September 1943) was a Belgian pictorialist photographer. He is known for his landscapes and street scenes with atmospheric skies.
Born to a wealthy family in Gilly, Belgium in 1870, Léonard Misonne was one of many children of Adèle Pirmez and lawyer and industrialist Louis Misonne.[1][2] He studied Greek and humanities in Charleroi[3][1] before going to the Université catholique de Louvain where he got a degree in mining engineering.[4] However, he did not become a mining engineer in the long term.[3][5][a]
Misonne is best known for his atmospheric photographs of landscapes and street scenes, with light as a key feature,[6] and as a pioneer of pictorialism.[5][7] According to the Directory of Belgian Photographers, "Misonne’s work is characterised by a masterly treatment of light and atmospheric conditions. His images express poetic qualities, but sometimes slip into an anecdotal sentimentality."[4] He was nicknamed "the Corot of photography".[8][9]
Misonne devoted himself to photography from 1896,[1] joining the Belgian Photography Association in 1897.[10][5] He became a leading light in pictorialism, frequently exhibiting his photographs at exhibitions.[4][3] He also did slide shows.[5] Much of his photography was in Belgium and the Netherlands,[8] but he also visited London, France, Germany and Switzerland. The German occupation of Belgium during World War II greatly restricted his photography.[5]
Misonne would often photograph things that were strongly illuminated from behind, producing a halo effect.[10]
He would also retouch the lighting effects in his photographs,[8] experimenting with and using many techniques, such as the Fresson process and later the bromoil and mediobrome processes.[9][11][4] He also invented the "flou-net" and "photo-dessin" processes.[7][10][3]
