Henri Cartier-Bresson
The 20th century was the century of the image. Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer, born in 1908, is the eye of a century. Telling his life and deciphering his work is first and foremost writing the story of a gaze. Wandering through his century, the gaze of this lucid observer captured the fascination of 1920s Africa, crossed paths with the tragic fates of Spanish republicans, accompanied the Liberation of Paris, captured Gandhi's weariness just hours before his assassination, and witnessed the victory of the Chinese communists. Henri Cartier-Bresson was also Jean Renoir's assistant for three major films – an artist who sees himself as a craftsman and yet founded Magnum, the most prestigious photo agency. He is also the one who captured the features of his contemporaries, Mauriac in mystical levitation, Giacometti, Sartre, Faulkner, or Camus, and so many others caught at the decisive moment, all portraits for eternity.
