Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, 'Chine'

Going to photography exhibits helps your art, educates your eye and will inspire you - the best mix of history and art. Last Sunday I saw Chine at the Cartier-BressonFoundation in the Marais. This exceptional exhibit of 130 photographs on his time in China during historic change is closing Sunday, the 9th. If in Paris, go see it.

HCB shot the last stage of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, covered the last six months of the Kuomintang administration and the first 6 months of the Maoist People’s Republic.

A world-renown photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)was born in Paris in the 8th arrondissement to a well-to-do family. He started painting at 14 and continued studying art and sketching at the Louvre till he was 24 when he picked up the camera. He considered it a sketch tool and shot for the next 50 years of his life.

"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 that event its proper expression.”

"Poetry is the essence of everything, and it’s through deep contact with reality and living fully that you reach poetry. Very often I see photographers cultivating the strangeness or awkwardness of a scene, thinking it is poetry. No. Poetry is two elements which are suddenly in conflict — a spark between two elements. But it’s given very seldom, and you can’t look for it. It’s like if you look for inspiration. No, it just comes by enriching yourself and living.“ 

"Technique is important only insofar as you must master it in order to communicate what you see… The camera for us is a tool, not a pretty mechanical toy. In the precise functioning of the mechanical object perhaps there is an unconscious compensation for the anxieties and uncertainties of daily endeavor. In any case, people think far too much about techniques and not enough about seeing.”

HCB used a framework of geometry to set off his evocative figures. You have focus to see the repeated patterns, leading lines, dark and light contrast, figure-ground relationships.

I tried analyzing some of his images by overlaying leading lines, angles, triangles, repeating patterns. Its a good way to learn.

Or try sketching directly in a book. I've always been a book-wrecker. Lagerfeld said he always bought 2 book copies - one to wreck and one to keep.

A layout from Life magazine. Some things to consider. - HCB never cropped his photos. He didn't printed them either. He let the lab do that. There was no image fiddling. And no photoshop  then. He stuck with a simple hand-held Leica using mainly a 50mm lens.

The camera's metal parts were painted black to appear less noticeable in the street. He considered luck, timing plus intuition and his knowledge of art the essential ingredients to his success. A modest, street-smart man. He tells all in this rare video interview when he was 90. Its well worth the watch.

"I have always been passionate about painting,” writes Cartier-Bresson. “As a child, I painted on Thursdays and Sundays, and dreamed about it every other day.” At 74 HBC put his Leica down, picked up the paint brush again and painted out his window on 198, rue de Rivoli facing the Tuillerie gardens the rest of his life. Why am I telling you this? Because much of his mastery of "the decisive moment" was the result of years training his eye to look. And copying old master paintings in the Louvre.  Shall I go sketch at the Louvre tonight? It's open to 9:45pm on Fridays.Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast. Please share with a friend.Get a taste of Paris letters and watercolors in your mailbox 📮. xxx💋Carolg and Bear 🐻