Adolphe de Meyer – The Substance of a Venetian Dream
Huis Marseille shows Adolphe de Meyer’s rediscovered Venetian photography collection, with 75 images around his life and work.
Photo: attributed to Gertrude Käsebier - Adolphe de Meyer posing on a balcony, Palazzo Balbi-Valier, 1905, on loan from the Bibliothèque municipale de Tours.
Huis Marseille presents Adolphe de Meyer – The Substance of a Venetian Dream, the first museum exhibition in Europe devoted to Adolphe de Meyer (1868-1946). At its heart is a collection of 75 photographs rediscovered in 2019 in the Bibliothèque municipale de Tours, documenting his life and work in Venice.
De Meyer is known as a pictorialist, portrait photographer and pioneer of fashion photography. The exhibition connects his Venetian years at Palazzo Balbi Valier with his artistic network, experiments with light and staging, and the role of his wife and creative partner Olga.
The exhibition runs from 24 October 2026 to 7 February 2027 at Huis Marseille on the Keizersgracht, a convenient photography stop for international visitors exploring central Amsterdam. The publication Adolphe de Meyer. The Substance of a Venetian Dream, with a text by curator Camille Mona Paysant, appears alongside the exhibition.
