Henri Cartier-Bresson's China Photographs at MUDEC Milan
At MUDEC in Milan, the exhibition 'Henri Cartier-Bresson. Cina 1948-49 _ 1958' showcases more than 900 images from two pivotal trips to China. Cartier-Bresson's initial visit commenced in November 1948 and spanned ten months in Shanghai, where he recorded the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War and the ascent of Mao Zedong's Communist Party. His work included poignant moments, such as mothers searching for their children and students protesting against inflation. After documenting revolutionary festivities, he traveled to Hong Kong. The exhibition's latter section, adorned with green walls, highlights his 1958 return, illustrating state-sanctioned advancements during the Great Leap Forward. Despite limitations, he captured the struggles of daily life, believing in photography's unique power to immortalize fleeting moments.
Key facts
- Exhibition at MUDEC, Milan, titled 'Henri Cartier-Bresson. Cina 1948-49 _ 1958'
- Over 900 photographs, mostly black-and-white
- First trip started November 1948, lasted 10 months
- Witnessed end of Chinese Civil War, fall of Kuomintang, rise of Mao Zedong
- Photographed mothers, funerals, vendors, barbers, pilgrimages, a blind man led by a child, a dead newborn with a cat
- Documented exploitation, looting, militias hidden by propaganda
- Detained 5 weeks in Hangzhou without camera
- Second trip in 1958 under strict control, showing industrial and rural development
- Cartier-Bresson called photography 'a weapon, a notebook, a passionate kiss, a psychoanalytic session'
Entities
Artists
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
Institutions
- MUDEC
- Kuomintang
- Chinese Communist Party
- People's Liberation Army
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
- China
- Shanghai
- Nanjing
- Hangzhou
- Hong Kong
- Chanteloup
- Montjustin