9 September 1909 – 21 February 2003, was a French photographer whose work frequently engaged with Surrealist aesthetics and experimental image-making. Born in Amboise, he was introduced to photography at an early age by his family and began his professional career after moving to Paris in 1933, where he received his first commissions following a meeting with the advertising executive Raymond Gid.

In 1936, he joined the photographic group Le Rectangle, founded by Emmanuel Sougez and others, which played an important role in supporting his development as a photographer. During the German Occupation, he worked for the magazine Images de France, producing portraits of prominent cultural figures, including Colette. In this period, he also created extended photographic series, most notably La mort et les statues, published in 1946 with a text by Jean Cocteau. The collaboration continued with a book in 1947 illustrating Cocteau’s poem Plain Chant with photographic nudes.

After the Second World War, he became increasingly active as an experimenter, producing collages and photomontages informed by Surrealism, which he also applied to a wide range of advertising commissions. Alongside his artistic practice, he was strongly involved in professional advocacy, helping to found the association Le Rectangle and the French Federation of Art Photographers (FAPC), where he served as vice-chairman.

In 1949, he joined Le Groupe des XV with photographers such as Robert Doisneau and Willy Ronis, contributing to exhibitions and initiatives aimed at preserving France’s photographic heritage. He remained active in exhibitions and professional organizations until his later years. He died in Paris in 2003.

Reference:
Biography text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), English edition. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Jahan