Jean-Louis Barrault photograph collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669

Summary

Extent:
1 linear foot (2 boxes)
Creator:
Jenkins, Paul, 1923-
Abstract:
Contains nearly 400 black and white photographs documenting Jean-Louis Barrault and Madeleine Renaud's career in the theatre in France between 1947 and 1979.
Language:
French

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains photographs documenting Barrault and Renaud's career in the theatre in France between 1947 and 1979. Most images are production stills of performances at the Theatre d'Orsay, Theatre de France Odeon, and other venues, but the collection also includes images of Barrault and his contemporaries off-stage. Madeleine Renaud is, after himself, the most frequently photographed. Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, and Jean Genet are among the notable theatrical figures documented.

Biographical / historical:

Barrault, born in France in 1910, was an esteemed and innovative fixture in French theatre and film for five decades from the 1930s to 1980s. He trained as a mime and an actor, and later directed both screen and stage productions. With Madeleine Renaud, his wife, he founded a theatrical company in Paris in 1947, after acting and directing with the Comedie Francaise. Barrault later directed the Theatre d'Orsay and the Theatre des Nations.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Suzanne Donnelly Jenkins and Paul Jenkins, 2007.
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in two series:

  • Series 1: Production Photographs, 1947-1979 (Boxes 1-2)
  • Series 2: Non-Production Photographs, 1947-1976 (Box 2)