Henri Cartier Bresson Research Note

Henri Cartier Bresson 

Henri Cartier Bresson was a documentary photographer who's discovery of the art came from Martin Munkácsi in the arts magazine Arts et Métiers Graphiques which he discovered in 1931. His first photographic experience of documenting photographs was to Europe with his friends Leonor Fini and Pieyre de Mandiargues. During the war in 1940 he joined the film and photography with the Third Army which influenced him to take photos of the people around him at the time. In 1948-50 he spent three years in the Far East: in India for the death of Gandhi, in China for the last six months of the Kuomintang and the first six months of the People’s Republic, and in Indonesia for its independence. His photographs are published all over the world. This is where majority of his famous photos came from. 

The 'decisive moment' in photography is especially important when documenting a moment. Capturing the right seconds can include emotion and the perfect framing and be the difference between an amazing photo and something that doesn't have much meaning. This photo for example was taken just at the right moment, this was taken at the The Swan Ballet in Soviet Union, Moscow, Bolchoi Theatre, 1954. It is part of his 'Soviet Union' portfolio of images, he was one of the first photographers to be allowed into the USSR during the Cold War. The photo really represents the story of the ballet as well as showing the romance and femininity of the show, the soft outline of the ballerinas reflects the elegance of the dance. In front of the line of dancers are what appears to be the main characters, holding each other and looking at each other, this shows the connection between them and the love which we all see develop on stage in front of our eyes. As i mentioned before there is a desicvie moment within photography which we can see here, Henri chose the perfect moment to take this image as the dancers are perfectly still and positioned in a meaningful way but there is still some blur showing motion of the dance. In the foreground of the image you can also see the orchestra which adds to the atmosphere of the theatre which he is trying to portray. 

This photograph by Henri Cartier Bresson was taken in Leningrad on the 9th May 1973. It is part of the Soviet Union portfolio when he was one of the first photographers allowed in the country to take photos. The photo is of people commemorating the victory over the Nazis. I think this image has a lot of emotion behind it but also a feeling of patriotism and proudness of their country. The decisive moment of this image shows so much emotion due to the facial expressions and body language of the people. The young girl at the front of the photo could be seen as the main focus of the image as her sweetness stands out against the harshness of the wall of soldiers. The flowers she is holding show a sign of peace and remembrance which implies that soldiers were lost in the pursuit of this victory. The line of soldiers really emphasises the proudness of those who fought and their emotion behind what they have been through. The man at the front of the line is looking slightly past the camera and the facial expression he has looks upset. To me he appears to be someone of authority due to him wearing a different hat to the other men, this could show that he was the leader of the men when they came to victory. I think this photo is very important to be preserved as it shows a countries heritage and proudness which should be kept for years to come. The people in the image have fought for their country and this photo shows the emotion that they feel when thinking about what they have been through. 




This photo was taken by Henri Cartier Bresson and is part of the India portfolio taken in 1947. It was taken in North India, Kuinkshaha and is of a muslim refugee train from Delhi to Lahore in Pakistan. The image is very thought provoking and causes you to feel empathy for the people involved. One of the most important aspects of this photo is the lack of emotion shown by the people, their blank faces are just staring into the camera lens, showing no curiosity, happiness or even sadness. The empathy that we feel for them is brought about by the conditions we see them in. They have resulted to this unsafe way to leave a country because its their only choice. There are men, women and even children all cramped together trying to flee the area they live in. All of the people are wrapped in sheets with only a small amount of luggage with them, this tells us that they are going to be traveling through the night as it might get cold and they need to protect themselves from getting ill. The fact that this photo is in black and white emphasises the empathy that we feel for the people as it doesn't include any bright colours so only reflects a dark sad feeling. The perspective of the photograph is very interesting as we are drawn through the image from the main focus at the front to the end of the train.