Gelatin silver print, printed later.
29.5 x 44.5 cm (11 5/8 x 17 1/2 in.)
Signed in ink and copyright credit blindstamp in the margin.
L. Kirstein & B. Newhall, Photographs By Cartier-Bresson, London: Jonathan Cape, 1964, pl. 17
H. Cartier-Bresson, The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson, London: Thames & Hudson, 1968, pl. 59
Photofile: Henri Cartier-Bresson, London: Thames & Hudson, 1989, pl. 28
Henri Cartier-Bresson: Photographer, London: Thames & Hudson, 1992, pl. 144
J.-P. Montier, Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Artless Art, Boston: Little, Brown, 1996, pl. 111
Henri Cartier-Bresson: Pen, Brush, and Cameras, Minneapolis: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1996, n.p.
H. Cartier-Bresson, The Mind's Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers, New York: Aperture, 1999, p. 52
P. Galassi, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World, London: Thames & Hudson, 2003, pl. 69
Henri Cartier-Bresson: Scrapbook, Photographs 1932-1946, London: Thames & Hudson, 2006, p. 197
J. Clair, Henri Cartier-Bresson: Europeans, London: Thames & Hudson, 2007, p. 37
P. Galassi, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century, New York: MoMA, 2010, p. 150
C. Chéroux, Henri Cartier-Bresson: Here and Now, London: Thames & Hudson, 2014, pl. 128
Henri Cartier-Bresson: Decisive Moments, London: Fine Art Society, 2015, pl. 14
French • 1908 - 2004
Candidly capturing fleeting moments of beauty among the seemingly ordinary happenings of daily life, Henri Cartier-Bresson's work is intuitive and observational. Initially influenced by the Surrealists' "aimless walks of discovery," he began shooting on his Leica while traveling through Europe in 1932, revealing the hidden drama and idiosyncrasy in the everyday and mundane. The hand-held Leica allowed him ease of movement while attracting minimal notice as he wandered in foreign lands, taking images that matched his bohemian spontaneity with his painterly sense of composition.
Cartier-Bresson did not plan or arrange his photographs. His practice was to release the shutter at the moment his instincts told him the scene before him was in perfect balance. This he later famously titled "the decisive moment" — a concept that would influence photographers throughout the twentieth century.
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