Welcome to Pho·tog Friday!
As noted in Part II of this Pho·tog Friday series, towards the end of the 1940s, Cartier-Bresson played a big part in developing the Magnum Photo Agency. Below is an image of the Magnum Photographers at a meeting in Paris, France in 1957. Cartier-Bresson is standing in the back row, second from the left:
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| ©Magnum Collection/Magnum Photos |
In 1950, Cartier-Bresson's work with Magnum brought him back to Iran and back to India. While traveling through Iran, Cartier-Bresson visited many cities including Ramsar, Isfahan and Teheran. He shot photos that represent the landscape, the culture and way of life there during this time:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Iran, 1950. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Ramsar, Iran, 1950. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Washing Carpets in Isfahan, Iran, 1950. |
The image directly below displays one of the palaces of the Shah of Iran. The walls are mosaic of bits of mirror.
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Teheran, Iran, 1950. |
The image directly below shows Medan Sepah, which is the center square, with a riding statue of the former Shah. Between a taxi and an American car passes the water wagon called the Shah's water (the drinking water provided in the town).
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Teheran, Iran, 1950. |
While traveling through India in 1950, Cartier-Bresson covered a large pilgrimage that takes place on the first full moon of April. Two hundred thousand people participated in the pilgrimage, which took place in Palni, a small town in southern India. In order to participate in the pilgrimage, one has to climb roughly five hundred steps to the top of the temple. The participants were met by thousands of beggars on these steps:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Pilgrimage, India, 1950. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Pilgrimage, India, 1950. |
In April of 1950, Cartier-Bresson covered the funeral of Ramana Maharshi, one of the most respected Hindu gurus of modern time:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Funeral of the Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi, 1950. |
Sri Ramana Maharshi's believed that he was dying his last incarnation and would become a god. Before he passed, his favorite peacock strolled the ground of Maharshi's last earthly home.
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi's Favorite Peacock, 1950. |
Continuing with his work of shooting still images on the set of films, Cartier-Bresson also covered Anatole Litvak's film Decision Before Dawn:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Shooting of Anatole Litvak's Film 'Decision Before Dawn', 1950. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Shooting of Anatole Litvak's Film 'Decision Before Dawn', 1950. |
Perhaps one of Cartier-Bresson's top accomplishments at a young age; in 1952, he published his first book titled The Decisive Moment. This publication featured 126 photos that he had shot from the 1932 to 1951. In the preface of the book, Cartier-Bresson quoted 17th Century Cardinal de Retz, "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment". Cartier-Bresson certainly applied Cardinal de Retz's school of thought to his photography practice. "To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression". The cover of The Decisive Moment was designed by French Painter, Henri Matisse. Below are a few of the images that were published within the book from the 1950s:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Peasants Fishing in the Nile, Luxor, Egypt, 1950. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, A Peasant Funeral, Italy, 1951. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, French Painter, Henri Matisse Observing Vase by Pablo Picasso 1951. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, French Writer, Paul Leautaud, 1952. |
Cartier-Bresson spent 1952 traveling throughout Europe: Italy, Spain, Ireland, West Germany and of course, France:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Surroundings of Rome, Italy, 1952. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, San Fermines, Pamplona, Spain, 1952. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Corpus Christi Procession, Tralee, Ireland, 1952. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Hamburg, West Germany, 1952. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Folies Bergère Music Hall, Paris, France, 1952. |
Cartier-Bresson's travels followed a similar pattern in 1953, when he was even able to photograph renowned painter, Pablo Picasso:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Pablo Picasso Near Studio, Vallauris, France, 1953. |
In 1954, Cartier-Bresson traveled to Moscow to take photographs for a book that would record the daily lifestyle in the Soviet Union. Each July, athletes from all over the Soviet Union would gather at the capital to celebrate a day of sports, which can be seen in the image below:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Stade Dynamo, Moscow, Russia, 1954. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Swan Lake, Bolchoi Theater, Moscow, Russia, 1954. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Elementary School, Moscow, Russia, 1954. |
The images that Cartier-Bresson took in Moscow would later be published in a book titled The People of Moscow, which was released n 1955. Below is the image that was used for the cover over the book:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Moscow, Russia, 1954. |
The same year that Cartier-Bresson's book came out about those living in the Soviet Union, he also had his first exhibition at Pavillon de Marsan in the Louvre. As the decade continued, Cartier-Bresson expanded his travels to Portugal, Greece and Denmark. He covered the Stock Exchange in Great Britain as well. In 1956, he traveled through the Netherlands:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Checking Herrings Before Export, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1956. |
The same year, Cartier-Bresson traveled through Sweden:
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Lapland, Sweden 1956. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Political Crisis, Stock Exchange, Paris, France, 1957. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, The Crowning of John XXIII, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1958. |
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| Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Citroën Car Factory, Paris, France, 1959. |
Stay tuned for Part IV, where we will explore Cartier-Bresson's life during the 1960s!
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01. "Henri Cartier-Bresson." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.
02. "Henri Cartier-Bresson." Magnum Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.