The Niépce House will participate in the European Heritage Days which will be held on September 17th and 18th, 2022. You will be able to visit the place where the very first photo in the world was taken by the inventor of photography: Nicéphore Niépce.

About the Niépce House

Niépce’s house in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes is the singular place where Nicéphore Niépce invented photography under the name of Heliography then Physautotype. It is also in this property that he invented with his brother Claude the first explosion engine and that he perfected the vélocipède.

Exceptional visits

Exceptional visit of the place in the presence of the co-founders of the project:

• Jean-Louis Bruley, responsible for the reconstitution of the Pyréolophore,
• Manuel Bonnet, direct descendant of Nicéphore Niépce, actor, co-author with Jean-Louis Marignier of the book Niépce, correspondance et papiers published by the Maison Nicéphore Niépce in 2003, and at the initiative of the bi-centenary in 2007 of the Pyréolophore of the Niépce brothers
• Pierre-Yves Mahé, who has been in charge of the Maison Nicéphore Niépce project since its beginning in July 1999.

During the guided tour, you will relive the history of this place. You will be able to handle the exact reconstitution of the first camera in the world and observe the heliographs made by a CNRS researcher according to the original processes of the inventor: images with Judean bitumen and lavender oil on glass, copper, tin and silver.

A faithful copy of the velocipede that Niépce used on the paths of the village will be at your disposal to practice around the property.
The Niépce House is financed by Spéos, the international photo-video school.

Practical information

Guided tours will be organized on September 17 and 18, 2022, from 2 to 6 pm.
Tickets will be sold on site.
The house is located at 2 rue Nicéphore Niépce, 71240 Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France.

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