Photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson: biography, life, creativity and interesting facts

The pioneer of photojournalism was the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. His black and white masterpieces are considered real works of art, he was the founder of the "street" style of photo art. This remarkable master of his craft was awarded many grants and prizes. Cartier-Bresson, whose biography simply captures, in his pictures was able to capture such celebrities: Jean Genet, Coco Chanel, Marilyn Monroe, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso and others.

Born Cartier-Bresson in France on August 22, 1908 in the little-known town of Chantla, near Paris, where the rivers Marne and Seine merge. They named him after his paternal grandfather. His father's family had a business in the production of cotton yarn. Great-grandfather and Uncle Cartier-Bresson were talented artists.

The beginning of the way

When Henry was still very young, he was given a good at that time camera (Brownie-box). With his help, the future genius captured his friends, could record all the memorable moments of youth. Also, Cartier-Bresson's worldview was influenced by Uncle Louis (a talented artist). Henri often spent free minutes in his studio. Being still a teenager, he was carried away by surrealism.

Learning the fine arts

After graduating from the Lyceum, in 1925, Bresson seriously decides to engage in visual arts and is studying with the artist-cubist Andre Lot. It was these lessons that played a big role in the development of Henri as a photographer. Lot was a very strict teacher and did not give opportunities for freedom of creativity, so Cartier-Bresson decided to go to military service.

Traveling in search of romantic pictures

Under the influence of the literature of that time in 1930, Henri boarded a ship and went to Africa. But the journey ended in failure - the young Bresson fell ill with a fever and even composed a suicide note. But his family persuaded him to return to France, where he was able to undergo rehabilitation and be cured. At this time Henry settled in Marseilles. Very often he wandered the streets of this city with a camera in his hand and looked for worthy scenes for his outstanding photographs. When Bresson finally recovered, he was able to visit many European countries, also made a visit to Mexico. His best companion was his beloved camera.

Activity photomaster in the US

In 1934, Cartier-Bresson met a Polish photographer, an intellectual under the pseudonym David Seymour, and a Hungarian photographer Robert Kappa. These masters had much in common with regard to the art of photography. In 1935 Bresson was offered to come to the United States, where the first exhibitions of his works were organized (in New York). After that, the master was offered to photograph models for fashion magazines, but Bresson did not like it very much.

Cooperation with the cinema

In 1936, the photographer Cartier-Bresson returned to France and began to cooperate with the famous French director Jean Renoir. In one of the films of Renoir, Bresson tried himself as an actor. He also helped the director to shoot other tapes relevant for those times.

The first steps in photojournalism

The first work of Cartier-Bresson as a photojournalist was published in 1937, when he fixed on the camera for the French weekly the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The photographer masterfully was able to capture the subjects who were preparing the city for the celebration. After that, the last name Cartier-Bresson sounded at full strength.

Getting married

In 1937 Bresson married the dancer Ratna Mohini. They settled in Paris, had a large studio, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Henri began working as a photographer for the French Communist newspaper along with his fellow reporters. He did not join the ranks of the Communist Party of France.

Difficult military years

In September 1939, when the Second World War began, Cartier-Bresson went to the front, became a corporal of the French army (as a photo documentary). During one of the battles for France, the photographer was taken prisoner, where he spent almost 3 years in forced labor. Twice he tried to escape from the camp, for which he was punished by being in solitary confinement. The third runaway was crowned with success, he managed to hide under fake documents. He began to work in the metro and secretly cooperate with other photographers.

When France was liberated from the Nazis, Bresson was able to fix all of this in his pictures. At the same time, he helped create a documentary film about the liberation of the country and the return of the French soldiers home. This film was filmed in the United States. After that, the Americans organized an opening day of his photo in the Museum of Modern Art. In 1947 the first book of works by Henri Cartier-Bresson was published.

Interesting bureau for photojournalists

In 1947, Cartier-Bresson, along with his friends Robert Kappa, David Seymour, George Roger, organizes the first agency of photojournalists called "Magnum Photo." Members of the team were distributed to the state. A young photojournalist was able to visit many parts of Indonesia, China and India. The photographer received international recognition after the illumination of the funeral of Gandhi in India (1948). He also was able to capture the last stage of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and the arrival of a communist standing in Beijing. In 1950, Henry traveled to South India, where he photographed neighborhoods of settlements and interesting moments from the life of the country.

Publication of the book "The decisive moment"

In 1952 the first book of the great master in English was published. It housed 126 masterpieces made in different corners of the planet. Cartier in this book was able to show his views on the art of photography. The most important task of the photographer, in his opinion, is to catch an important fraction of a second for the frame.

In 1955, the first exhibition of his works took place in France. It was organized in the Louvre. Before that, there had never been a photo exhibition. The world of Cartier-Bresson is very diverse. In 1966, the photographer concentrated on portrait and landscape photography.

The Soviet Union through the eyes of the master of photography

The great Cartier-Bresson was able to visit the USSR twice. He first came here when Stalin died (1954). Already in 1955 the first album "Moscow" was published, which was published in the journal Live. This is the first publication in the West about the life of Soviet citizens in the postwar period. For the first time in many years, Soviet people were able to get out of the veil of secrecy. Bresson traveled to Russia, Uzbekistan, Georgia.

The photographer always spoke with caution about the Soviet Union, as if afraid that someone would overhear him. The second time Henry came here in the 70s. In the foreground of Cartier-Bresson pictures there were always people: children with parents, dancing youth, workers at the construction site. Among his masterpieces are pictures of peaceful demonstrations, lines at the counters of department stores and Lenin's mausoleum. The photographer masterfully removed the connection of man with reality.

Painting

In 1967, Bresson divorced his first wife and engaged in visual arts. It seemed to him that he took all he could from the photo. His camera was hidden in the safe and only occasionally took her with him for a walk.

Henri soon married again, and in this marriage he had a daughter Melanie (1972).

The master himself never liked to be photographed, even at the presentation of the honorary degree of Oxford University. He avoided the moments when he was removed, sometimes even covered his face. Cartier-Bresson never advertised his private life.

The founder of photojournalism died in 2004, at the 96th year of his life. Shortly before his death, he managed to open a fund of his heritage, so that on his work more and more generations of photographers learned.

The Cartier-Bresson method

Almost always the master worked with the camera Leica, equipped with a lens 50 mm. Often, the chrome body of the device, he wrapped a black tape to make it less visible. Bresson never cut his photos, did no photomontages, did not use the flash. The master worked exclusively in black and white format, never approached close to the object. The most important thing was to catch the decisive moment. He believed that even the smallest thing can become an excellent object for a picture, and the most common person is the leitmotif for a posh photograph. His style is an honest street photograph. The master of photo art was able to fix on the film a lot of celebrities: Henri Matisse, Jean Renoir, Albert Camus and others.

Books of the famous master

Anyone who has ever looked at a photo of this world-famous photographer could see that Henri Cartier-Bresson was a very interesting person. The books of this master have spread all over the world. The first of these, "Decisive Moment," was released in 1952. In addition to her published such books as "Muscovites", "Europeans", "The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson", "On Russia", "The Face of Asia", "Dialogues". The book "The Imaginary Reality" contains many memoirs, diary entries, an essay by a well-known photojournalist. The books of Cartier-Bresson are very valuable, many of his contemporary talents are taught at his councils.

Tips from the master to novice photographers:

• It is necessary to accurately build a frame, think through its boundaries and center, use a multidimensionality.
• A photo artist should not attract attention, his task is to remain invisible.
• The photographer needs to travel a lot, to study psychology and the characteristics of people.
• It is better to buy one good camera instead of several substandard ones.
• It is good to first learn to photograph children and adolescents, they are direct.
• This photographer should have an artistic taste.
• Do not make a lot of shots, you need to very clearly wait for the right time for shooting.
• Do not stop at what has been achieved, all the time you should strive for new heights.