The Royal Collections Gallery will host an exhibition from 6 October to 18 January 2026 in the Borbones Hall (Floor -2. Isabel II Area). For the first time ever, it brings together nineteen of the thirty-nine pieces that make up the Royal Collection’s photosculpture collection, which is currently the largest in the world and probably the most important.
The extensive holdings that make up the Royal Collections include some very rare pieces, some of which are not very well known. This exhibition features a selection of pieces attributed to the French artist, François Willème, inventor of this complex and innovative technique, known as photosculpture. The selected pieces, made in diverse materials, formats, and sizes, represent members of the family of Queen Isabel II and some of her closest relatives.
Photosculpture was a technique created to quickly represent a person accurately and three-dimensionally in different formats and materials. It was invented by the sculptor and photographer, François Willème (Sedan, 1830–Roubaix, 1905), patented in Paris in 1860 and developed between 1860 and 1868, using photography and sculpture, which makes photosculpture the forerunner of 3D.
The photographer, Antoine-François Claudet (1797-1867) took this technique to Great Britain and became the artistic director for Willème’s company, Societé Générale de Phtosculpture. In April 1863, this technique was patented in Madrid, where his name was transcribed as “Willeine”. The photographer of Queen Isabel II, Jean Laurent brought the inventor of photosculpture to Madrid to create profiles in various sizes, busts and full-length figures of diverse members of the Spanish royal family.
In 1864, this technique was patented in the United States, where Hutson and Kurtz founded a photosculpture society in 1866 in New York. The 1867 Universal Exposition brought worldwide fame to this process, which was presented in a specially designed pavilion. Despite the recognition obtained, Willème stopped making photosculptures a year later in 1868 and the Societé Génerale de Photosculpture was dissolved.
Image Credits:
- The Royal Family, François Willème. Around 1865 Silver-electroplated bronze, 145 x 182.5 x 101.5 cm. National Heritage
- Queen Isabel II. François Willème. Around 1865 Silver-electroplated copper, 53 x 67 x 68 cm. National Heritage
- The King Consort Francisco de Asis. François Willème. Around 1865 Biscuit porcelain, 46.5 x 29 cm. National Heritage
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