As he came from a wealthy family (his father was a successful textiles maker), Henri was able to develop his intrest in photography further. When he was a young boy, Henri experimented with a "Box Brownie", but then later started to use a 3x4" view camera.
In the 1920's, schools of photographic realism appeared all throughout Europe. Subsequently, Henri started to socialize with Surrealists at a cafe in Paris, and was able to mature artistically in this environment.
From 1928 to 1929, Henri studied English, Art & Literature at the University of Cambridge. In 1930, Henri finished his mandatory service in the French Army.
One of the key moments in Henri's photographic career was his part in the formation of Magnum Photos. Magnum served as a cooperative picture agency, and was owned by its memebers. Magnum's mission was to "Feel the pulse", and aimed to use photography as a service to humanity, and create engaging, widely viewed images.
He gained international recognition for his coverage of Ghandi's funeral in 1948, and the last stage of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
One of the things that I enjoy most about Cartier-Bresson's images is that, in some photos, there is a selective use of the formal elements to create a feeling for the audience. What regular people might see as a mistake in taking the photo, Cartier-Bresson saw as an opportunity to create something completely unique.
This photo of Alberto Giacometti is a prime example of what I mentioned before; of what could be seen by many as a mistake, creating a brand new meaning for the photo. One meaning could be the apprectiation of art at the time that this photo was taken. The man appears to be preoccupied by walking, and is represented by the motion blur. Did he not have time to look at the art surrounding him? Was he too busy? Did it look similar to him?
He seems to be surrounded by quite unique statues, but simply might not have had the time to look. From this photo, it may have been that, at the time, people simply did not appreciate art in the way that we do now, represented by the mannerism of Mr. Giacometti.
It is because of this unique method of photographical narration, that Cartier-Bresson is one of my favourite photographers.
