In the late 1800s, Félix Arnaudin, a pioneering photographer and ethnographer,

In the late 1800s, Félix Arnaudin, a pioneering photographer and ethnographer,

In the late 1800s, Félix Arnaudin, a pioneering photographer and ethnographer, turned his lens toward the rural life of the Landes region in southwestern France. Among his most iconic images are those of Gascon shepherds standing on tall stilts, called échasses. Clad in thick woolen cloaks and wide-brimmed hats, these shepherds stride above the marshy ground, navigating the damp and uneven terrain with remarkable grace. Arnaudin’s photographs, many of which are preserved in the Musée d’Aquitaine, offer a rare and haunting window into a world shaped by both tradition and necessity.

The stilts were not for show—they were a brilliant adaptation to the Landes’ wet, low-lying landscape. Elevated above the bogs and heather, shepherds could spot their sheep from a distance and move more easily across soggy ground. In Arnaudin’s compositions, the tall, narrow figures of the shepherds rise against the flat horizon, a striking symbol of human resilience in the face of nature’s challenges. These quiet portraits speak to a life of solitude, patience, and deep connection to the land.

More than just documentation, Arnaudin’s work was a heartfelt effort to preserve a vanishing culture. As modern development began to reshape the region—draining wetlands and planting vast pine forests—the age-old way of life he captured was already fading. The stilt-walking shepherds, once a common sight, are now part of memory. Through his lens, Arnaudin created a lasting tribute to the ingenuity and enduring spirit of the Gascon people and the rugged beauty of their homeland.