Artist
Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908–2004)French, 1908–2004
CultureFrench
Titles
- Eli Cartier-Bresson
Date1940s
MediumGelatin silver print
Dimensionsimage/sheet: 7 15/16 × 7 5/16 in.
Credit LineThe Sonia and Kaye Marvins Portrait Collection, museum purchase funded by Sonia and Kaye Marvins
Object number84.347
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographySpecial Collections
Object Type
Eschewing
all externally imposed artifice, Henri Cartier-Bresson formulates his
compositions within the framework of his camera lens, using the limitations of
the negative's format as if it were a painter's canvas. Line, shape, and form
are delicately balanced in that fleeting moment when the shutter is released,
freezing them in time to articulate an image that is both poetic and
descriptive.
Drafted
into the French army at the outbreak of World War II, Cartier-Bresson was
captured and interned by the Germans for three years until he managed to escape
in 1943. He then worked with the French underground, photographing artists and
writers for another three years. Presuming Ca1tier-Bresson dead, the Museum of
Modern Art, under the direction of Lincoln Kirstein, was organizing a
Cartier-Bresson retrospective exhibition of the images when the photographer
returned to the United States in 1946. Cartier-Bresson assisted in the
completion of the exhibition, and a friendship between the photographer and
Kirstein ensued. Later, Cartier-Bresson presented this portrait of his Javanese
dancer-wife, Ratna Mohini (Eli), to Kirstein. The portrait is not typical of Cartier-Bresson's
"fleeting moment" style, nor is it traditional in the sense of
identification and description. Instead, Eli's personal attributes of grace and
fluidity of movement are captured momentarily in a carefully balanced, static
composition.
Provenance Research Ongoing Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Center: Stamped in black ink: "PHOTO HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON / NOT FOR REPRODUCTION / REPRODUCTION INTERDITE".
Below stamp, in black ink: "á Lincoln et Faido / avec notre tres affectuese (?) / et fidéle amirie / Henri et Eli". [rough translation is: To Lincoln and Faido, with our great affection and faithful love, Henri and Eli.]
Lower: Left, stamped in blue: "COLLECTION OF / PAUL CADMUS [enclosed in oval]". Lower edge, in orange pencil: "Faido = Fido = Fedlema Kirstein PC / Eli Cartier-Bresson".
Below stamp, in black ink: "á Lincoln et Faido / avec notre tres affectuese (?) / et fidéle amirie / Henri et Eli". [rough translation is: To Lincoln and Faido, with our great affection and faithful love, Henri and Eli.]
Lower: Left, stamped in blue: "COLLECTION OF / PAUL CADMUS [enclosed in oval]". Lower edge, in orange pencil: "Faido = Fido = Fedlema Kirstein PC / Eli Cartier-Bresson".
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
John Loengard
1987, printed 2008
Gelatin silver print
2008.398.9
Philippe Salaün
June 1979
Gelatin silver print
2007.1621
