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 graphite: alicante/ Espagne"; verso, center, in gray ink: "H. Cartier-Bresson / c/o Julien Levy Gallery / 602 Madison Ave / New York City / USA"; verso, lower center, in graphite: "3" [encircled]; verso, lower left, in graphite: "X"
Dimensions
Image/paper: 16.3 × 23.7 cm (6 7/16 × 9 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Julien Levy Collection, Special Photography Acquisition Fund
Reference Number
1979.68
Extended information about this artwork
Travis, David. 1976. “Photographs from the Julien Levy Collection: Starting with Atget.” Exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago. p. 21, cat. 31.
Greenough, Sarah, Joel Snyder, David Travis and Colin Westerbeck. 1989. “On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography.” Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art/The Art Institute of Chicago. p. 305, cat. 250.
Phillips, Sandra S., David Travis, and Weston J. Naef. 1985. “André Kertész: Of Paris and New York.” Exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago/Metropolitan Museum of Art/Thames and Hudson. p. 86, fig. 38.
Sire, Agnes and William Ewing. 2004. “Documentary and Anti-Graphic Photographs; Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans.” Steidl. p. 109.
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)
Art Institute of Chicago, “Master Photographers from the Permanent Collection,” February 14-June 10, 1984.
Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, “On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography,” May 7–July 30, 1989; traveled to The Art Institute of Chicago, September 16–November 26, 1989; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 21, 1989–February 25, 1990.
Berlin, Germany, Berlinishe Galerie, “Sprung in die Zeit,” November 20, 1992–January 17, 1993.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Bystander: A History of Street Photography,” December 10, 1994-April 16, 1995; traveled to the San Jose Museum of Art, January 16-April 4, 1999.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Hot Streaks,” February 21–May 2, 2004. (David Travis)
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)
New York, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, “Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century,” April 11–June 28, 2010; traveled to the Art Institute of Chicago, July 24–October 3, 2010; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, October 30, 2010–January 30, 2011; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, February 19–May 15, 2011. (Chicago only)
Art Institute of Chicago, Photography and Media rotation, Gallery 10, October 6, 2020-June 13, 2021.
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