Both chronological and thematic in structure, the exhibition is organised into 3 key sections, from his use of the Surrealist aesthetic to photo-reportage and his intimate, late style. The works on display have been loaned by more than 20 international collections.
This exhibition invites us to revisit the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, known as the “eye of the century” for his role as a key witness to 20th-century history. For the first time, it reveals all the richness and complexity of his work and the varied nature of his career as a photographer, from his use of the Surrealist aesthetic to photo-reportage and his intimate, late style. As a result, its analysis of the artist’s work goes beyond the concept of the “decisive moment” that brought him fame.
Both chronological and thematic in structure, the exhibition is organised into three key sections. Firstly it covers the period between 1926 and 1935, defined by Cartier-Bresson’s relationship with Surrealism, his early work and his extensive travels around the world. A second section focuses on his political commitment from the time he came back from the USA in 1936 to his return to New York in 1946. The third section opens with the founding of the Magnum Photos agency in 1947 and continues to the early 1970s when Cartier-Bresson ceased to produce photo-reportages.
His genius for composition, extraordinary visual intuition and ability to capture the most elusive and significant instants as they happened made Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. Throughout a career spent crisscrossing the world, turning his gaze on the great moments of history, he mingled poetry with a powerful sense of testimony.
His work falls into three main periods. During the first, from 1926 to 1935, Cartier-Bresson fraternised with the Surrealists, began working as a photographer and went on his first major trips. The second, from 1936 to 1946, was marked by his political commitment, his work for the Communist press and his experience in films. The third, 1947 to 1970, covered the creation of the cooperative Magnum Photos to the time when he stopped doing photo reports.
The exhibition has been organised by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, in collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE and with the participation of the Cartier-Bresson Foundation. The works on display have been loaned by more than twenty international collections, including the Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Cinémathèque Française, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the MoMA, New York, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Image: Henri Cartier-Bresson Hyères, Francia, 1932. Silver gelatin print, copy made in 1946 © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos, Courtesy of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, Paris
For further information, please contact Alejandra Fernández or Nuria del Olmo in MAPFRE'S
Communications Department. TEL. +34 915818464/ +34 690049112 alejandra@fundacionmapfre.org - ndelolm@fundacionmapfre.org
Press conference: Thursday, June 26, noon
FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE
Recoletos Exhibition Hall Paseo De Recoletos, 23 28004 Madrid
Hours:
Mon 14.00 - 20.00 hrs.
Tue - Sat 10.00 - 20.00 hrs.
Sun 11.00 - 19.00 hrs.
Entrance free