Henri Cartier-Bresson became known for “the decisive moment,” an instantaneous composition of a scene, for which the photographer must act quickly and intuitively. As a photojournalist for Magnum Photos, the agency he founded with his colleagues Robert Capa and David “Chim” Seymour, he traveled across the world, photographing some of the most important events of the 20th century. Early in his career, he developed a distinct style of photography and made some of his most famous and enduring images.
Date
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Unmarked recto; inscribed verso, upper right, in blue ink: "Espagne"; verso, center, in black ink: "H. Cartier-Bresson / c/o Julien Levy Gallery / 602 Madison Ave. / New York City, USA"; verso, lower center, in graphite: "5" [encircled]
Dimensions
Image/paper: 15.6 × 23.2 cm (6 3/16 × 9 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Julien Levy Collection, Special Photography Acquisition Fund
Reference Number
1979.63
Extended information about this artwork
Galassi, Peter. 1987. “Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Early Work.” Museum of Modern Art/New York Graphic Society. p. 112.
Sire, Agnes and William Ewing. 2004. “Documentary and Anti-Graphic Photographs; Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans.” Steidl. p. 126
Art Institute of Chicago, “Photographs from the Julien Levy Collection: Starting with Atget,” December 11, 1976–February 20, 1977; traveled to the International Center of Photography, New York, April 21-May 29, 1977; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, November 4-December 18 1977; Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, January 13-Ferbruary 26, 1978; Lakeview Center for the Arts and Sciences, Peoria, Illinois, March 16-April 30, 1978; and Cincinnati Art Museum, November 17-December 24, 1978. (David Travis)
New York, New York, Museum of Modern Art, “Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Early Work,” September 9–November 29, 1987; traveled to Detroit Institute of Arts, December 15, 1987–February 29, 1988; Art Institute of Chicago, March–April 1988, San Diego, California, Museum of Photographic Arts, May 10–June 26, 1988.
Paris, France, Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, “Documentary and Anti-Graphic Photography: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans and Manuel Alvarez-Bravo,” September 7–December 22, 2004; traveled to Switzerland, Musee de L’Elysee, February 10–April 10, 2005.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Far from Home: Photography, Travel, and Inspiration,” January 20–May 6, 2007 (Elizabeth Siegel and Newell G Smith)
Art Institute of Chicago, “Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Art and Photography of Paris,” September 20, 2008–January 4, 2009. (David Travis)
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