Henri Cartier-Bresson
Alicante, Spain

Alicante, Spain

© Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos

Alicante, Spain
Alicante, Spain
ArtistFrench, 1908–2004
CultureFrench
Titles
  • Alicante, Spain
Date1933
Place depictedAlicante, Spain
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 13 15/16 × 9 1/4 in. (35.5 × 23.5 cm)
 Sheet: 16 1/16 × 12 1/16 in. (40.8 × 30.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Allan Chasanoff Photographic Collection
Object number91.475
Not on view

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Department
Photography
Special Collections
Object Type
DescriptionHenri Cartier-Bresson began his artistic career as a painter with a particular interest in Surrealism before buying a Leica camera and turning to photography seriously in 1932. He began traveling through Eastern Europe taking photographs, then made his way through Southern France and Italy before ending up in Spain in 1933. This early picture illustrates the distinct, intuitive style for which he would become known as a photographer, particularly a quality of thoughtful observation that resulted in images so well composed they almost appear staged. Cartier-Bresson termed this “the decisive moment,” a confluence of “one’s head, one’s eye and one’s heart” that captures a chance moment of spontaneity grounded in geometric patterns. A pioneer of photojournalism, he photographed major events and personalities around the world, engaging his subjects in intimate observations of the exterior world.
ProvenanceAllan Chasanoff, New York; given to MFAH, 1991.
Exhibition History"The Marzio Years: Transforming the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1982–2010," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 25, 2020–January 10, 2021.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
verso lower right corner in pencil " 100 "
lower right corner below image in ink " Henri Cartier- Bresson "
lower left corner in margin embossed stamp " © Henri Cartier- Bresson "

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