A woman emerges through vegetation from the edge of a lake. From the 1992 volume Le Pictorialisme En France by Michel Poivert, we learn “Lemoine, along with Bergon and Le Bègue, made up the “nudist trio”. A specialist in tableaux vivants, he was also a regular on the island of Herblay; these four hectares where they had dug “a real lake, bordered by giant reeds, spotted with water lilies (… with the project of an antique alabaster column” (Ménard).”

Today, “the island of Herblay-sur-Seine, located in Val-d’Oise, is the first biodiversity sanctuary in Val-d’Oise. The objective is to create a refuge zone by reducing human intervention to a strict minimum.” ( Val-d’Oise department-2024 )

Achille Lemoine: 1857-1948

Active (as an amateur photographer) between 1896 and 1914, he returned from an 1898 trip to Egypt, and “brought back a vision that certainly influenced his interpretations of the female figure. (At the beginning of 1898, Achille Lemoine participated, as a photographer, in the Amélineau mission that would discover the tomb of Osiris.-le grimh website) In addition to his photographs, he produced tableaux vivants at the Moulin Rouge and the Théâtre des Variétés, and filmed ancient dances and bathing.” (1.)

Independently wealthy as the son of a major music publisher, Achille Lemoine joined, in 1885, with his other brothers, the family company “Lemoine & Fils” which became, in 1895, “Henry Lemoine & Cie”. The company Henry Lemoine is still in business today as a music publisher. (2.)

1. Biography: Achille Lemoine, Le Pictorialisme En France, p. 100.

2. le grimh website: Achille Lemoine: (Paris, 1857 – Cauvigny, 1948)