Quai de Javel, Paris

Henri Cartier-BressonWW-1930-104381

1930·Gelatin silver print·Image/paper: 16.5 × 24.5 cm (6 1/2 × 9 11/16 in.)

<p>Henri Cartier-Bresson became known for “the decisive moment,” an instantaneous composition of a scene, for which the photographer must act quickly and intuitively. As a photojournalist for Magnum Photos, the agency he founded with his colleagues Robert Capa and David “Chim” Seymour, he traveled across the world, photographing some of the most important events of the 20th century. Early in his career, he developed a distinct style of photography and made some of his most famous and enduring images.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1930
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: Image/paper: 16.5 × 24.5 cm (6 1/2 × 9 11/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Henri Cartier-Bresson

Artist

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Photography

In his seminal 1952 monograph, The Decisive Moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson wrote, “To take a photograph means to recognize, simultaneously and within a fraction of a second, both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning.” Cartier-Bresson’s keen eye for such “decisive moments” – both on the grand scale of international politics and in the most ordinary moments of everyday life – have made him one of the most influential and original figures in the history of photography. A pioneer in the realms of photojournalism, street photography and portraiture, Cartier-Bresson’s iconic black and whites capture the drama, mystery and poetry of 20th century life with inimitable specificity and immediacy.

Céreste, France

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