Under the Surface: Surrealist Photography

  • About this Website
  • About the Exhibition
  • Related Events
  • Archive

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brussels, 1932

Posted on February 16, 2014 //

by Andrea Rosen, Curator of Under the Surface.

Intrigue in a photograph can be created by alluding to a space or object that is hidden from the viewer. In Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Brussels, 1932, a rough-spun cloth blocks the sight of some unknown spectacle. One man has found a gap to peek through, but the other furtively gazes to one side, as if he has been caught in the act, or is acting the lookout. What scene has caused such a sense of guilt? Both the photographer and the viewer can sympathize with this clandestine curiosity. This image was one of the first that Cartier-Bresson took with a small-format Leica camera, which allowed him to operate undetected by his subjects.

Image details:
Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908–2004)
Brussels, 1932
gelatin silver print
International Center of Photography, Gift of Henri Cartier-Bresson, in memory of Robert Capa and David Seymour
© Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

 

Related posts:

  1. André Kertész, Meudon, 1928
  2. Eugène Atget, Cour, 28 Rue Bonaparte, Paris, 1910
  3. Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Two Pairs of Legs, ca. 1928-29
  4. André Kertész, Meudon, 1928

Filed Under: By Curator, The Street // Tagged: Henri Cartier-Bresson

Categories

  • Posts By Author (18)
    • By Curator (10)
    • By Student (9)
  • Posts By Theme (18)
    • Dream (2)
    • Portraiture (8)
    • The Body (1)
    • The Street (8)

Tags

André Kertész Erwin Blumenfeld Eugène Atget Frederick Sommer George Platt Lynes Grete Stern Henri Cartier-Bresson Man Ray Manuel Álvarez Bravo multiple exposure photomontage technical manipulation

Copyright © 2023 · Minimum Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in