Chinche, the star of the pétanque scene and Hans Silvester's favourite model. Silvester says: "If I had to choose one image from this series, it would be the one in which the frame of my photo seems to be struggling to contain Chinche's widely spread arms. This is a paradox, because it is also the only photo where the boules are not shown, where the reality of the game is not visible. But I like the emphasis, the magnitude of the gesture.

From his first trip to Provence, Hans Silvester was fascinated by the petanque players, an activity that was widely practiced in the region. When he moved to Provence a few years later, he was introduced to the game of boules with local figures. He came across famous players whom he immortalised in his photographs, such as the gamekeeper of Murs, "Chinche", who is among the best known and most prized photos. He gradually made a place for himself by developing the photos and taking them to the players the next day, and was thus able to immortalise some anthology photographs...

Retour De Voyage has selected this photograph by Hans Silvester, which perfectly immortalizes the theatricality of pétanque: gestures, mimicry, lines, monologues... all essential for a star of the game of boule.