Henri Cartier-Bresson Silver Gelatin Photograph for Harper's Bazaar, 1955
Item Details
Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908 – 2004) for Harper’s Bazaar magazine
Untitled (reopening of the State Opera in Vienna, Austria), November 15, 1955
Unsigned
People
Publication and inventory mark inscriptions to verso
Magazine archive stamp to verso “Harper’s Bazar” with inscribed information
This photograph is one from a run of images sent for possible publication in 1955, taken at the reopening of the Vienna State Opera by Cartier-Bresson while on assignment for the Harper’s Bazaar coverage of the event.
Born in Chanteloup-en-Brie, France in 1908, Henri Cartier-Bresson was a pioneer of street photography and one of the most preeminent and influential photographers of the 20th century. A master of candid photography, Cartier-Bresson famously utilized a small Leica 35 mm camera wrapped in black tape to capture images inconspicuously. Starting his career in Paris, the artist was influenced by his socialization with the Surrealist movement as well as his later work assisting the renowned humanist filmmaker Jean Renoir. Henri Cartier-Bresson achieved renown for his globe-trotting work that documented the smaller-scale, human side of major world events, including the Spanish Civil War, the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation, the victory of the Communist Revolution in China, and the funeral of Mahatma Gandhi. Cartier-Bresson received numerous awards over his lifetime, including France’s Grand Prix National de la Photographie in 1981 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 from the Lucie Awards. Today, his work lives on in Magnus Photos, the internationally-respected cooperative photography agency that Cartier-Bresson co-founded in 1947, as well as in the collections of art institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, and the International Center of Photography.
Condition
- slight yellowing to gelatin binder; surface scratches to photograph; pin holes to corners of image; edge wear to sheet.
Dimensions
Item #
ITMG563392
