Parente, the Ardotype & Nic. Molitor
Artist Residency
The artist residency ‘Parente, l'Ardotypie & Nic. Molitor’ is being held in preparation of a photo exhibition as part of the opening of Villa Rother and its Espace Nic. Molitor for June 2026.
In order to enhance the cultural heritage and the inauguration of the Villa Rother in the spirit of the Slate Museum's philosophy ‘Living History – History Live.’ (Lieweg Geschicht – Geschicht erliewen), the museum approached the contemporary artist and photographer Alessandro Parente, who has been symbolically supported by the museum in recent years in the technical development of the ambrotype process on slate slabs. Parente calls this process ‘Ardotype’, in reference to the slate that serves as his carrier medium.
Alessandro Parente is an Italian photographic artist. His artistic career has always strayed from the beaten path, putting his photography at the service of minorities, forgotten landscapes, people in need or unusual processes in order to reveal the essence of his subject matter using past technology, which was more refined, precise and sincere. In 2022, Parente further developed the old technique of collodion photography to produce photographs on slate plates instead of glass. His first exhibition of ardotypes took place in Charleville-Mézières, followed by an exhibition in the Belgian Ardennes in 2023, before he came to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 2025/2026, his third partner in his ardotype epic.
Ardotype is a very fine example of how it is not only necessary to master the technique, but also how there is a true need to master a natural stone, which always leaves room for surprises, mistakes and without forgiving inaccuracies. A recurring motif in Parente's work is nature, unfolding above the slate bedrock of the Ardennes. He tries to incorporate and immortalise stone and flora in his art. Since 2023, he has also been working as a contemporary photographer involved in Ukrainian political circles.
What is an Ardotype?
Like ambrotypes, each ardotype is a unique, irreproducible original. Producing a photograph on a slate plate, carefully polished to remove all impurities and flaws, requires proven knowledge and technique to avoid unpleasant surprises. Parente is fortunate to be able to draw on the expertise of Vincent Theret, entrepreneur and artist, operator and last slate quarryman in the Greater Region, to extract and refine the slate stones to perfection. Parente's art lies in the fact that he has found the perfect material to replace glass as a carrier for the negative. In fact, the ambrotype, which is simply a negative viewed through transparency, must be placed on a black background in order to be correctly transformed into a positive. Parente has combined these two steps by producing the photograph directly on the black background of the slate. Immortalising the Ardennes on slate is the ultimate nod to the French, Belgian and Luxembourgish Ardennes, with images preserved on mirror-like shiny schist.
Photographer Alessandro Parente is currently spending 10 days in the Martelange region.
On Sunday, the 21st September 2025, he will take photographs in Haut-Martelange using the same old technique employed by Nic. Molitor. Molitor (1882–1952) was a passionate photographer who used dry silver bromide plates to produce his photos. In 2024, the family bequeathed this impressive legacy of 1,900 glass plate negatives and 1,750 paper prints to the Slate Museum.
During the presentation, Parente will explain how to produce a glass negative with a camera similar to the one Nic. Molitor used. He will show how to develop it and then produce the positive image.
On Sunday, 21 September, those interested can register to participate in the one-hour presentation during which Alessandro Parente will explain this ancient technique of dry plate photography using silver bromide and will produce a glass plate negative before your eyes.
