Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Eye of the Century

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004), born in Chanteloup-en-Brie and died in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, is celebrated as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. His career began in the 1930s after a trip to the Ivory Coast and inspiration from a Martin Munkacsi photograph, leading him to adopt a Leica 35mm camera with a 50mm lens in 1932. He co-founded Magnum Photos in 1947 with David Seymour, Robert Capa, George Rodger, and William Vandivert. During World War II, he joined the French Resistance, was captured by Nazi troops in 1940, and escaped on his third attempt. In 1944, he photographed the liberation of Paris. His global travels produced iconic reportages, including 'From One China to the Other', 'Dance in Bali', and 'Viva la France', which won the Prix Nadar in 1971. He was the first Western photographer allowed to work freely in the Soviet Union. His 1952 book 'Images à la sauvette' (The Decisive Moment) became seminal. In 2000, he founded the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation with his wife and daughter to house his works and provide exhibition space; since his death, the foundation has authorized no further prints. Despite his fame, he returned to his first passion, painting, in the late 1960s, influenced by Surrealism. He famously stated, 'Photography itself doesn't interest me. The only thing I want is to capture a fraction of a second of reality.'