The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Quartier de la Chapelle, Paris

Quartier de la Chapelle, Paris

1928 or 1929 (printed c. 1940s)
(French, 1908–2004)
Image: 25.3 x 17.4 cm (9 15/16 x 6 7/8 in.)
© Henri Cartier-Bresson
Location: not on view

Description

This ambiguous scene of a pedestrian passing a man sprawled on a sidewalk is a striking example of Henri Cartier-Bresson's genius at selecting the "decisive moment." With a small hand-held camera and an uncanny sense of timing, he was able to anticipate the fraction of a second before a scene in front of him resolved into a balanced, meaningful composition that he could capture on film. Cartier-Bresson once said: "Photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give the event its proper expression."
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 121
  • CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art."
    Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
  • {{cite web|title=Quartier de la Chapelle, Paris|url=false|author=Henri Cartier-Bresson|year=1928 or 1929 (printed c. 1940s)|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.244