Henri Cartier-Bresson (1933)

The World is Movement and You Cannot Be Stationary

Henri Cartier-Bresson, a French photographer, was considered one of the major artists of the 20th century and the father of photojournalism. His pictures show the spontaneity of photojournalism and street photography around the World. Throughout his career he took photographs worldwide and covered such important events as the Spanish Civil War, his visit to Mahatma Gandhi, the Chinese revolution, and George VI's coronation. During the World War II Cartier-Bresson joined the French army and was captured by German forces when he became a prisoner of war. Three years later he escaped and returned to photography and film.

Henri Cartier-Bresson allowed us to appreciate some of the most important events in recent history. Furthermore, he was the first Western journalist to enter the Soviet Union. One of the most important works in which he participated was The Family of Man, a collection of black-and-white photographs by the world’s greatest photographers. These photographs were significant in the way that they presented in detail the human unity that underlies all cultural, ethnic and other differences.