![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1x1_spacer.png\" "\\"A"){kind=spacer}
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\n A graphic illustration of the Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce Memorial coming up at Vathikulam, near Mavelikara.
\n | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT\n <\/p>\n
For most, retirement is a time for rest, but for Saji Ennakkad, a retired Kerala State Electricity Board senior superintendent, it is a time for creation\u2014he is spending his life savings on building a memorial for Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce, the French inventor and pioneer of photography, at Vathikulam, near Mavelikara.<\/p>\n
The work on the Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce Memorial began on 5.5 cents of land in June this year. Former Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar laid the foundation stone and the project is expected to be completed by early 2026.<\/p>\n
![\"Joseph](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/4juq3o\/article70045546.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/11073_13_9_2025_14_7_26_3_14TVAL3_NI%C3%89PCE.JPG\" "\\"Joseph")
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Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Niepce.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT\n <\/p>\n
The project, with an estimated cost of \u20b945-50 lakh, being implemented under the aegis of\u00a0the Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce Foundation, will recreate the portion of Ni\u00e9pce\u2019s (1765\u20131833) house at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes in France.\u00a0The memorial will feature the iconic window through which Ni\u00e9pce captured \u2018View from the Window at Le Gras (Point de vue du Gras),\u2018 the world\u2019s earliest surviving photograph.<\/p>\n
![\"View](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/2svqdd\/article70045549.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/11073_13_9_2025_14_7_26_4_14TVAL4_NI%C3%89PCE.JPG\" "\\"View")
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View from the Window at Le Gras (Point de vue du Gras).
\n | Photo Credit:
\n SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT\n <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was on this estate that Ni\u00e9pce carried out his groundbreaking experiments in heliography, the earliest photographic process. Around 1826\u20131827, Ni\u00e9pce captured the photograph using a camera obscura. The image was made on a pewter plate coated with bitumen of Judea, hardened by sunlight, and later washed with lavender oil to reveal the picture. In later years, photography immortalised memories, but the world had almost forgotten the man who made it possible. The monument ensures that Ni\u00e9pce will forever be remembered,\u201d said Mr. Saji, who is a painter and photojournalist.<\/p>\n
The Ni\u00e9pce Heliograph is permanently exhibited at the Harry Ransom Centre, University of Texas, in the United States. According to the Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce Foundation, the Mavelikara memorial will honour \u201cNi\u00e9pce as the true father of photography, correct historical misconceptions, and educate the global community and inspire the younger generation with authentic history.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/4dji3k\/article70045551.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/11073_13_9_2025_14_7_26_1_14TVAL1_NI%C3%89PCE.JPG\" "\\"Former")
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Former Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar laying the foundation stone for the Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce Memorial at Vathikulam, near Mavelikara, in June 2025.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT\n <\/p>\n
A 34-kilogram bronze statue of Ni\u00e9pce will stand beside the memorial, which is planned as a modern cultural complex featuring a photography museum, art gallery, workshop spaces for photography and painting enthusiasts, and an open-air stage for cultural events. <\/p>\n
Mr. Saji is also the\u00a0author of a book about the history of photography, titled Nischalam Nishabdham.<\/p>\n
Published – September 13, 2025 05:23 pm IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A graphic illustration of the Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce Memorial coming up at Vathikulam, near Mavelikara. | Photo Credit:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-142827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}