Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Context
Born on August 22nd in Chanteloup, Seine-et-Marne. Educated at the Lycée Condorcet, Paris in 1908. He travelled around the world and visited countries that were less wealthy then other main countries. He visited countries like Mexico. This corresponds with his work because he takes picture of urban streets and of people who are less wealthy than other people. He also captures the difference between the poor and richer people. He was also greatly influenced by surrealist artists which can be seen in his work because he also photographs peoples shadows. In more than 40 years as a photographer, Cartier-Bresson wandered continually around the world. But there was nothing compulsive about his travels, and he explicitly expressed a desire to move slowly, to “live on proper terms” in each country, to take his time, so that he became totally immersed in the environment. This can be displayed in his work because he can really grasp the aspect of the feelings of the different people. 

The Decisive Moment

He pioneered the genre of street photography, and conceived of photography as capturing a decisive moment. "To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organisation of forms which give that event its proper expression." The decisive moment is the time when you decide to take the picture to create what you wanted.

Photography

This image relates to the decisive moment because to capture this image he would've had to get the bike at the right time to capture the bike going past. It also relates to the context of Cartier-Bresson because he wanted to capture real life take pictures without having big set-up, this is shown in this image because this isn't taken in a studio or set up he has captured this at a decisive moment. The fact that he has taken this in a real street also shows us that he wanted to document real lives and the real world.

This image also shows the decisive moment because he would have to get the timing right to capture the woman giving the fish to the man. This also relates to the fact that he wanted to capture real life because he's showing what happens in this street. It tells a story of the woman and how she earns a living by selling these fish, she looks poor so this is the only way she can make money. This image captures this woman's life and makes us read more into the life she is living and I think this is what Cartier-Bresson was trying to portray.

This image can also be linked to the decisive moment because he would've had to time it right to capture the movements of the people. It can also link to the fact that he wanted to capture real life because he has captured the lives of poor people and in this picture he is showing richer and wealthier people. We can tell that they are richer people because they have a boat and the way they are dressed, for example the man is wearing a top hat. We can see that Cartier-Bresson is trying to express the lives of the rich people.

Progression

In my work I will use ideas from his images such as expressing different people's lives, the richer and the poorer people. Also I can use his idea of the decisive moment by taking an image at the right time to express the meaning throughout the picture.