Robert Doisneau's Paris: a retrospective exhibition of over 100 photographs from the legendary French photographer, his grand view of Paris, as the city and its inhabitants boldly enter a new era. Brassai's Paris, an exhibition of 35 of the Hungary born photographer's mysterious photos: in 1930, he began photographing Paris at night with an insatiable eye.
Brassai's Paris + Robert Doisneau's Paris
The Boca Raton Museum of Art will open Robert Doisneau's Paris, a retrospective exhibition of over 100 photographs from the legendary French photographer Robert Doisneau, and Brassaï's Paris, an exhibition of 35 of the Hungary born photographer's mysterious photos, on June 29, 2005 and will run through August 28, 2005.
Robert Doisneau
Robert Doisneau's Paris presents Doisneau's grand view of Paris, as the city and its inhabitants boldly enter a new era. Scores of his images have endured as testaments to the French way of life, but speak eloquently to a universal audience as well; the best of his pictures stand as testaments to the wonders of life in all its forms. The exhibition includes his most well-known image, Baiser de l'Hotel de Ville (Kiss at the Hotel de Ville, 1950), which has become, perhaps more than any other photograph, an icon of young, boisterous love.
Like his peers Brassaï, Willy Ronis and Izis, Doisneau delighted in the exuberance of the street. Wandering Paris, Doisneau recorded the city in all its glory: nocturnal revelers, beggars, artists, dancers, pub denizens, and young lovers of every social class carousing in shadows; while during the day, he observed the workings of everyday life: schoolchildren, plein-air painters, animals, butchers, wedding processions, people at work and at rest.
Robert Doisneau was born in the Paris banlieue of Gentilly in the Val-de-Marne and studied engraving at the Ecole Estienne in Paris. He learned photography in the advertising department of a pharmaceutical firm. His career in earnest began in 1934 at the Renault car factory where he worked as an industrial and advertising photographer. In 1939 Doisneau was drafted and joined the French Resistance; he photographed the Occupation and Liberation of Paris. After the war, he provided coverage for French and international periodicals, among them Le Point, Action, Regards, LIFE and Vogue.
This exhibition is curated by Graham Howe, and organized by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions (CATE), Los Angeles. All works courtesy of the Estate of Robert Doisneau, Atelier Robert Doisneau, Montrouge, France.
Brassaï
Born in Hungary, yet essentially French, Brassaï (1899-1984) is renowned for his photographic chronicles of the night. As a poor immigrant artist in Paris, he survived as a newspaper reporter, occasionally illustrating articles with his photographs. In 1930, he began photographing Paris at night with an insatiable eye, surveying the high and low life of this illustrious, mysterious city. Brassaï's photographs from this period depict his profound understanding of Parisian architecture and culture. Through his lens, pattern and perspective are reversed, imagery is transformed and we are obliged to reverse our visual perception.
Images: Robert Doisneau . Baiser de l' Hôtel de Ville (Kiss at the Hôtel de Ville), 1949 . gelatin silver print, 10.94 x 10.06
right: Brassaï . Group of men in a bistro . Silver gelatin photograph . Executed in 1932 . 11 x 8 1/4 inches
Boca Raton Museum of Art
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