Born in the outskirts of Paris on August 22, 1908, Bresson helped create what is known today as "Street Photography". His immense influences in this medium have led many to consider Bresson as the father of Photo-Journalism.
INFLUENCES
INFLUENCES
When he was 19, Cartier-Bresson went to school at a private art school in Paris: the Lycée Condorcet. His main interest was painting. and he soon developed a fascination for certain aspects of Surrealism. Between 1927 and 1928, Bresson studied painting under André Lhote.
In 1931, Bresson spent the year at the Ivory Coast, where he took his first photograph. When he returned to Europe he fully dedicated himself to photography.
In 1931, Bresson spent the year at the Ivory Coast, where he took his first photograph. When he returned to Europe he fully dedicated himself to photography.
This photograph by Hungarian reporter, Martin Munkacsi, would prove to be very important in the development of Bresson's take on photography:
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| Martin Munkasci. Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika. 1929. |
Bresson would later say: "For me this photograph was the spark that ignited my enthusiasm. I suddenly realized that, by capturing the moment, photography was able to achieve eternity. It is the only photograph to have influenced me".
MAGNUM
In 1947, Bresson co-founded the Magnum photo agency together with other influent photographers of the time like Robert Capa, David Seymour and George Rodger. The agency went on to become one of the most respected and influential sources in documentary photography.
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| Cartier-Bresson. Madrid, Spain. 1933. |
LEGACY
Henri Cartier-Bresson died in Paris in 2004, after two decades since he had stopped focusing on photography and returned to painting. Bresson will always be remembered for producing masterpiece after masterpiece, capturing what he liked to refer as "The Decisive Moment".
Here are some words on photography, by Bresson himself:
"For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to “give a meaning” to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry. It is by economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.
"For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to “give a meaning” to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry. It is by economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.
To take a photograph is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge in a face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
To take a photograph means to recognize – simultaneously and within a fraction of a second– both the fact itself and the rigorous organisation of visually perceived forms that give it meaning.
It is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis."
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| Cartier-Bresson. Alicante, Spain. 1933. |
