Vu (magazine)


Vu, stylized as VU, was a weekly French pictorial magazine, created and directed by Lucien Vogel, which was published from 21 March 1928 to 29 May 1940; it ran for just over 600 issues. In 1931, Vogel founded a companion magazine named Lu, a survey of the foreign press translated into French; this merged with Vu in March 1937.
Vu was the first large weekly to systematically feature photographs in essay form, and as such was an important precursor to, and proponent of, the magazine format of photojournalism. Although inspired in part by the German magazine Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, VU featured a constructivist aesthetic and was innovative in its layouts, especially in its double-page spreads. Notable contributors included Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, Brassaï, and André Kertész. It was particularly advanced in its use of picture essays.
The magazine published special issues on the Soviet Union, Germany, the ascent of technology, China, and Spain.
A major retrospective was hosted by the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in late 2006/early 2007.