Henri Cartier-Bresson - Impressions Parisiennes: Une Collection de Photographies Paris Thursday, November 30, 2023 | Phillips
  • Description

    Gelatin silver print, printed later.
    24 x 35.6 cm (9 1/2 x 14 in.)
    Signed in ink and copyright credit blindstamp in the margin.

  • Literature

    The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson, London: Thames & Hudson, 1968, pl. 49
    J.-P. Montier, Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Artless Art, London: Thames & Hudson, 1996, pl. 69
    Henri Cartier-Bresson: Photographer, London: Thames & Hudson, 1999, pl. 8
    Henri Cartier-Bresson: City and Landscapes, Boston: Bulfinch, 2001, pl. 162
    P. Galassi et al., Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World, London: Thames & Hudson, 2003, pl. 44
    H. Cartier-Bresson et al., De qui s'agit-il?, Paris: Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, 2003, p. 58

  • Artist Biography

    Henri Cartier-Bresson

    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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5

Île de la Cité, Paris

1952
Tirage argentique postérieur.
24 x 35.6 cm (9 1/2 x 14 in.)
Signé à l'encre avec timbre sec du photographe dans la marge.

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 ‡♠

Sold for 13,970

Contact Specialist

Rachel Peart
Head of Department, London
rpeart@phillips.com
 

Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
vhallett@phillips.com

Impressions Parisiennes: Une Collection de Photographies

Paris Auction 30 November 2023