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Henri Cartier Bresson Research Paper

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Henri Cartier Bresson was a French humanist photographer known for his street photography and ability to create candid photos of people. Bresson was a person who viewed photography not just as an art, but as a psychological analysis of culture and people. While walking the streets of different areas of the world, he became immensely curious about how people view reality and decided to capture, “the true moments of human existence”. His photographs captured the in between moments, showing the true reality of the way people live. During his early years, Henri discovered the art of painting when his Uncle Louis started teaching him how to paint. After Uncle Louis’s passing, Henri Cartier Bresson was enrolled in the Lhote Academy where he was …show more content…

One of his photographs titled, “MEXICO. Mexico City. Prostitúees. Calle Cuahtemoctzin. 1934”, [04-Henri Cartier-Bresson Prostitúees.jpg] captures two women leaning out of cut out windows. Bresson decided to go back to Mexico in 1963 to photograph life in Mexico during that time. One of his images titled, MEXICO, Oaxaca, Juchitan, displays women and a baby in what seems to be an outdoor area where the women were hanging their clothes to dry. This photograph is compelling because it shows the women’s emotions and how it may be a struggling moment for them. [05-Henri Cartier-Bresson, MEXICO, Oaxaca, …show more content…

Instead of focusing more on composition and technique, like Ansel Adams, Cartier-Bresson focused on photographing the reality of each country he was in at the time. He wanted to know what it was like to be a person living in each of the countries he photographed in. He even stated that some of his photographs were almost snapshots because he was always putting himself in the middle of a situation. His determination to be apart of the action and his willingness to put himself in intense situations allowed him to travel across the United States, allowed him to gain entry into the Soviet Union right after Stalin’s death [07-Henri cartier Bresson-SOVIET UNION, Russia, 1954.jpg] and even allowed him to speak with Gandhi hours before he was assassinated while in India.[09-Henri Cartier-Bresson-India, GANDHI just before breaking fast.jpg] [010-Henri Cartier-Bresson,GANDHI,just after breaking his fast.jpg] Although he was given amazing opportunities, his eagerness to photograph highly intense situations led him to his captivity by the Nazis during World War Two. [09-Henri Cartier-Bresson, GERMANY, Dessau.jpg] Luckily he escaped at his third attempt. His life goals were involved around extreme events and amazing

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