[Book Description]
Henri Cartier-Bresson is regarded as one of the most iconic figures in the history of 20th-century photography. More than a pioneer of photojournalism, he was a visual storyteller who used photography as a form of art, capturing fleeting yet profound moments with poetic clarity. His concept of the "decisive moment" has had a lasting influence on generations of photographers around the world. To comprehensively present and reflect upon Cartier-Bresson’s extraordinary body of work, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York published Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century in conjunction with a major retrospective exhibition.
This landmark volume is the first to make extensive use of the rich archives of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris. It brings together thousands of photographs and an abundance of documents related to the artist’s life, creative process, and publications, making it one of the most authoritative and in-depth studies of his career to date.
Organized into twelve thematic and chronological chapters, the book features approximately 300 photographs that span Cartier-Bresson’s career from the early 1930s through the 1980s. These images reveal how he used a minimal, intuitive, and poetic approach to capture scenes where war and peace, the ordinary and the historic, quietly converge. While many of his iconic works are included, readers will also discover rare and previously unpublished images that even experts may find unfamiliar.
The accompanying essay by Peter Galassi, Chief Curator of Photography at MoMA, repositions Cartier-Bresson not merely as a photojournalist but as a visionary who straddled the realms of documentary and art. Galassi emphasizes how Cartier-Bresson’s distinctive sense of composition and light infused each image with both human depth and formal elegance, transforming everyday moments into enduring visual poetry.
The book also includes detailed supplementary materials, such as travel logs from Cartier-Bresson’s photographic journeys and magazine spreads of his published photo essays. These resources make The Modern Century not just a retrospective catalog but a critical research tool for understanding how Cartier-Bresson communicated with the world through his lens and redefined the language of photography.
Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century is a profound exploration of photography’s power to witness history, express truth, and evoke art. It invites readers to rediscover Cartier-Bresson not just as a master photographer, but as a timeless observer whose work continues to speak across generations. This book is both a love letter to photography and a lasting visual legacy.
[Product Details]
Author: Thames and Hudson Ltd
Publisher: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Publication Year: 2010
Dimensions: 30 × 24 cm
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 336 pages
※ Unwrapped; pages are yellowed and the book edges have slight yellow stains. Please avoid ordering this item if you want a brand-new copy for your collection.
