In 1935 the photographer Pierre Verger (París 1902 - Salvador de Bahía 1996) went on his bicycle along the Mediterranean coast from Portbou, in the French border, down to Cadiz. Throughout his tour he visited cities like Barcelona, Villareal, Valencia, Alicante, Elche, Lorca, Granada, Almería, Úbeda, Córdoba, Sevilla, Málaga, Arcos de la Frontera and Ronda. His files also reveal he stopped at Madrid, most likely while he was coming back to France.

During his tour Verger spontaneously photographed the strollers he found on his way, the landscapes, the city streets and the daily activities of its inhabitants, the buildings, etc. In his pictures we can recognise, among other spots, Barcelona’s Raval and Rambla, the old San Pascual’s Church in Villareal, Paterna Caves, Valencia’s harbour, the Palm Grove in Elche, San Juan’s Church in Lorca, the Alhambra of Granada, the Royal Tobacco Factory in Sevilla and the Gran Via in Madrid. Likewise, Verger took pictures linked to folklore and tradition. These scenes specially drew the attention of someone who, being meant to be a businessman like his father, rebelled and decided to devote his life to explore the world with a Rolleiflex camera.

Granada. Gitana. 1935. © Fundação Pierre Verger

Pierre Verger had his photographs published in books and reviews such as Paris Match, Paris-Soir, Vu, Regards, Le Petit Journal, Daily Mirror and Life. He worked since 1934 for the Alliance Photo agency, officially founded that same year by Maria Eisner, René Zuber and Pierre Boucher. This agency gathered photographers of the stature of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, Denise Bellon or Chim (David Seymour), before they formed in 1947 the Magnum agency. Verger shared space with them in some of the journals published about the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).