Henri Cartier Bresson

By: Nathan Quiliza

Broad Timeline

DOB: 08/22/1908Location:Chanteloup, Seine-et-Marne

1930: First trip to Africa

1932: Buys first Leica camera

1935-38: Years spent dabbling in Film making

WW2 Soldier Enlistment:

1940-45Time as POW:

1940-43

1947: Creates Magnum Photos

alongside R. Capa, D

Seymore, and others

1948-50:Photographs Gandhi's last

moments

1954: First photographer to be let into USSR since Cold War

2004: Death1920s: Growth of interest in Surrealism

Life as Bresson- Born into a well-off middle class family

- Henri grew to hate the wealth he’d been born into- Thought money was dirty

- Disliked glammer, fame, and class- Family was made of: Businessmen who were also

past-time artists- Henri was considered the black-sheep of his other siblings

- His father was dissapointed in his professional career choices

- Henri was an aggrevated child at a young age- Henri had family that died in the war

- Henri later embraced the ideology of Surrealism and lived his life around it

- He had a lot of influences- He spent more time with maids and bulters than his

family- He experienced many places with many people who were

likeminded- Had opportunity to learn and study various artforms

- Had a lot of teachers, rolemodels, and friends who also taught him

Humble Beginning as a Painter- 1926: Studied under André Lhote- André Lhote was a Cubist painter- Cubism

- Art Movement breaking rules of Traditional Western Painting (ex.

- Shunned fixed perspective, favored various viewpoints of a subject

- Influenced by outside (Western culture) cultures, superficially taking aesthetics

- Influence on Cartier’s style- Pushed Cartier away because of his

ideology of abiding by strict rules

WWIIHenri participated in (2) wars:

- Obligatory participation in WWI- Willingly served during WWII

- 1940: Joins army; Film and Photography Unit of 3rd Army

- 1943: Recorded (3) attempted escapes; last successful

- Endured terrible work and abuse by Germans as POW

- 1945: Uses filmmaking to create documentary on the repatriation of POWs and detainees

- Through war, he became closer to Surrealist ideals; shifted to photojournalism

Artistic Inspirations- From Lhote, included aspects of Cubism

- Cubism was against traditional western rules- Hate for strict rules, guidelines, frames, and such

- Surrealism- Heavily influenced by Andre Breton, considered founder of Surreal

Movement- Breton influenced by Sigmund Freud, psychoneurologist- Breton’s surrealist ideals was anti-Bourgeoisie, anti-fascist, anti-war- Rebelled against reality, favored imagination- Techniques in photography: double exposure, combination printing,

solarization, prosaic photos - Grew from Dada Movement following WWI, essentially providing the

surrealists their philosophy- 1920s: Leica, Bresson’s main tool; technological mobility allowed Bresson to

father the subject of spontaneous images (Influence back in Africa)- Believed to have used only 1 camera- Used 1x50mm range finder, 1xlens, and 1x50mm

- Had multiple haiatus from photography to follow other passions; filmmaking, sculpting

- Met various people who gave him a lot of inspiration

Photographing Preferences I- Started taking photos in the 1930s, during

trip to Africa- Picked up a 2nd hand Krauss camera

- Transition from painting to photography- Very ritualistic for Henri; decided to burn

all his canvases as a rite of passage- Style

- Didn’t put a lot of emphasis on context or aesthetics

- Looked for scenes that were in the moment

- Acknowledged academic beauty BUT didn’t care much for it

- Like to be invisible when taking pictures- Liked to photograph objects and

allegories

Photographing Preferences - Via a 1971 interview with Sheila Turner-Seed (filmmaker

and journalist)- Carries 1 camera: Leica m3- Carries a 50mm lens because he believes it gives the

perfect depth of focus- 90mm cuts too much out of the foreground and

gives little depth of focus [in action shots]- 35mm is good when needed but difficult to use

when needing extreme precision- Mentioned that his pictures were taken @

1/125th a second- Doesn’t like overshooting a subject; compares it to

overeating- Does not believe in corrections; once and done

type of person

Title: Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare (1932)

Camera used: predicts early Leica models - either the Leica I (1927) or Leica II (1931)

* Production Leica models came equipped with a 50mm f/3.5 Elmar lens and shot @ a 1/125 - 1/500 shutter speed*Could be Krauss he picked up in Africa

- Taken with a 50mm lens, f/3.5 aperture, @ a 1/125 - 1/500th of a second

- Possibly cropped but 50mm b/c of a wide DoF- Est. 1/500 shutter speed because of frozen subject and

ripples in water- Weather looks cloudy by spots in sky- Looks as if Bresson took the photo standing up, possibly at an

slightly elevated position- Focus is on the subject on right ⅓ of photograph, ladder on

ground has context in direction of photo

- In regards to Henri’s style of taking spontaneous photos, this reveals what goes on in a fraction of a second, and also what we miss. I think the picture is a representation of urgency, but also shows the beauty in this context.

Title: USA. Arizona. (1947)

Camera used: predicts Leica m3

* Leica, for the m3, allowed a 16mm - 400mm lens size. This model also had a shutter speed of 1s - 1/1000th of a second.

- Focal length: 50mm; the focal length allows for a balanced depth of focus, showing the car, train, and mountains in the background

- Shutter speed probably around 1/100th - 1/500th of a second. Trains don’t go that fast in the first place, so a higher shutter speed shouldn’t be needed

- Organization: Balance of subjects within rule of thirds; clouds in one, mountains and train in the middle, and car in the lower third

- Contrast between the smoke and clouds cleary show a bright day. Contrast between the train and cars distinguish rust.

- Weakness: From his position, it seems that he isn’t standing parallel to implied lines

- Texture is present in the rocks, grass, rust, smoke, shrubs

- I believe Henri’s trying to highlight the ugliness of industrialism. From his biography, he wasn’t a really big proponent of the byproducts of industrialism. What would have been a barron, yet peaceful landscape is disrupted by scrap metal and debris. Not only that, but the smoke coming from the train, in contrast with the clear sky, presents a deep contrast between polluted and non-polluted.

Title: SPAIN. Valencia. (1933)Inside the sliding doors of the bullfight

arena

Camera used: predicts early Leica models - either the Leica I (1927) or Leica II (1931)* could be his 2nd hand Krauss

- Focal length: 50mm, f/3.5, 1/25 - 1/100th shutter speed

- Position: Photographer moves closer to the subject in order to get a shallower DoF. Photographer allows positions self an an angle so that natural light reflects off the man’s glasses. A shallow DoF also hides the secondary subject to the left ⅓ of the photo

- Contrast: Black and white contrast, in cooperation with a shallow DoF hides the child in the background

Experiences and Achievements- Magnum Photos w. Capa, Seymour,

Vandivert, and Rodger- Global cultural mixing pot for photographers- Plethora of cultural storytelling photos- Provides high-quality images to large

institutions

- 1948-50: photographed the Death of Gandhi, Kuomintang in China, Indonesia’s Independence

- 1954: 1st photographer to be let into USSR since Cold War

- 2000-03: Creates HCB foundation

Why his works Speak to Me- I admire his relation between his

photos and his ideology (way of life)- I like the idea of Surrealism and the

appeal of spontaneous photography- I like his preference for less

technology- I like his preference against

overtaking pictures- I like that he doesn’t force a picture;

he catches his best at a moments notice

What We Can Learn?- Appreciate the spontaneous- Don’t overthink the factors of a

photo- Don’t overtake photos- Prioritize quality vs. quality- Don’t feel confined to the

current status quo- Leave clues out of your photo -

allow your audience to construct their own meaning

Bibliography

- “Biography.” Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, www.henricartierbresson.org/en/hcb/biography/.

- Cartier-Bresson, Henri. Henri Cartier-Bresson. Aperture Foundation, 1997.

- “Manifesto of Surrealism Summary.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/topics/manifesto-surrealism.

- “Surrealism Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm.

- History.com Staff. “Cubism History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2017, www.history.com/topics/history-of-cubism.

- Times, The New York. “Henri Cartier-Bresson: 'There Are No Maybes'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 June

2013, lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/cartier-bresson-there-are-no-maybes/.

- Wade, John. “The Leica I: The Camera That Changed Photography.” Shutterbug, 20 July 2015,

www.shutterbug.com/content/leica-i-camera-change-photography.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm