Mountaga Dembélé

Mountaga Dembélé was born in Bamako, Mali, in 1919. He started photography in 1935 when he was a teacher. He was drafted into the colonial army and sent to Europe during WWII. There, he also perfected his technical skills with the help of a French photographer. He returned to Bamako as a lieutenant of the Colonial Infantry in 1945. Shortly after, Dembélé went back to teaching in different parts of Mali where he pursued his passion for photography by taking many portraits. In 1947, he managed to order and setup his own equipment to take and print photos. By photographing on commission during his time off, Dembélé who was only an amateur, managed to earn as much as a professional. He is now retired and lives in Medina Coura. Unfortunately, no trace of his work remains. His portraiture style influenced the subsequent master of the genre, Seydou Keita.

Seydou Keita

Seydou Keita was born in Bamako, Mali, in 1921. He was interested by photography when he received a camera brought back by his uncle from a trip to Senegal in 1935. After practicing photography on his own, he learned the technique in the studio of Pierre Garnier. Working in that studio, he realized that there was a big opportunity for individual pictures. He then opened his first studio in 1948 to fulfill an increasing demand for portraits. Keita slowly developed his own style, in which he sought to always make people look their best in front of his camera. He often provided clothing and set the staging to get the perfect picture. Keita operated his studio until 1962, when he was asked to be a government photographer. A few years later, he retired and his credited with a portfolio of over 10,000 negatives. Since his first solo exhibition in 1994, his work is widely acknowledged not only as a chronicle of Malian life but also as fine art. His emphasis on the essential elements of portraiture helped him to create his own signature style among renowned African artists.

Abderramane Sakaly

Abderramane Sakaly was born in Saint-Louis, Senegal, in 1926 from Moroccan parents. He developed a passion for photography at an early age. In his youth, he learnt photography in the studio of Meissa Gaye in Saint-Louis. In 1956, Sakaly moved to Bamako, capital of Mali, where he opened his own studio. He began to specialize in photographing the social circles of military officers and the growing middle class. With several Malian personalities who would have their portraits made in his studio, Sakaly gradually became the fashionable photographer of Bamako. He took many photographs after the independence of Mali in 1960, of which a great number have been damaged. Just before Sakaly died in 1988, his children took over the studio. They tried to keep their father’s work from being forgotten by preserving his photos. Just as Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibé, Sakaly’s photography has been well-received and exhibited worldwide.

Felix Diallo

Felix Diallo was born in Kita, Mali, in 1931. When his father died, he dropped out from school to earn his living as a tailor. In 1951, he moved to Bamako, capital of Mali, where he worked for the French photographer Pierre Garnier in the studio Photo-Hall Soudanais. He was responsible for printing enlargements along with other Malian apprentices. In 1955, Diallo returned to Kita where he became the town’s first photographer. It was very hard for him to do photography as people were reluctant to go in front of the camera. However, he persevered and people eventually became less suspicious. Diallo was the photographer of Kita for thirty years. Many of his negatives have disappeared but some were saved by Erika Nimis who met Diallo shortly before his death in 1997.

Sources: Photographes de Bamako de 1935 à nos jours, Erika Nimis, Editions Revue Noire, 1998.