Probably the best known image taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Behind the Gare St. Lazare transforms a seemingly unimportant and mundane action: someone trying to jump over a puddle of water, into one of the most iconic images of the Twentieth Century. Bresson managed to capture the split-second before the heel touches the water, perfectly capturing what he liked to call "The Decisive Moment".
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| Henri Cartier-Bresson. Behind the Gare St. Lazare. Paris, 1932. |
The original title for the photo was Derrière la gare de Saint-Lazare, and it was taken in 1932 in Paris. Saint-Lazare is the second most busiest train station in Paris, handling over a quarter of a million passengers each day. Bresson, in his usual matter-of-fact tone, explained: "There was a plank fence around some repairs behind the Gare Saint-Lazare train station. I happened to be peeking through a gap in the fence with my camera at the moment the man jumped".
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