The name of Jacques Régent will forever remain engrained in the French photographic memory and most particularly to the Rencontres d’Arles. His commitment to the profession laid on the solid pillars of the Ecole Louis Lumière, class of 1963, before he joined the company of the same name, that would quickly evolve into Ilford. From there he would become a precious supporter in the development of the Rencontres Internationales de la Photography d’Arles from 1972.

It was a love that would drive him to acquire a residence in this Arlesian republic at the end of the 1990s.

Jacques belonged to the kind of men that have linked their lives to photography and, contrary to those that fill the photographic landscape with just hot air, his actions and commitments were just as sober as they were efficient. That is why, after the warning by Jean Dieuzaide to keep the black and white barite paper, Jacques shared the information concerning the technical specifications analyzed during the conferences on the subject, organized by the team of the Rencontres. Thanks to his intervention, the famous Papier Galerie was born. A few years later, after having spent time at the company Photo Service, he decided to devote his enthusiasm to the service of young photographers, always with the same discretion.

With the help of e-center, he had recently launched a small boutique near Bastille in Paris, in order to help professionals and well-informed amateurs to achieve their photo books, when a stroke marked the end to this life of photography. From that day on, his fight would be to remain alive.

Jacques Régent passed away on his sixty ninth year of life, the 3rd of September at 5 am. He was born on February 20th, 1943 in Vesoul.

Bernard Perrine
Bernard.Perrine1@orange.fr