The Henri Cartier-Bresson Day Thread (October 12, 2019)
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) is one of the most important photographers of the 20th Century. His work in the 1930s helped define street photography, and developed the idea of capturing the “Decisive Moment.”
Born in Chanteloup-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, he began as a painter before taking up photography in 1932 when he purchased his first Leica camera.
Cartier-Bresson produced major bodies of photographic reportage on Europe and America in the aftermath of World War II, India and Indonesia, China during the revolution, the Soviet Union after Stalin’s death. For more than 25 years, he helped define modern photojournalism, and became of the most important portrait artists of the 20th century.
He founded the Magnum photo agency in 1947 along with Robert Capa, George Rodger, David ‘Chim’ Seymour and William Vandivert, which enabled photojournalists to reach a broad audience through magazines such as Life while retaining control over their work.
Have a fine day, everyone!