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Henri Cartier-Bresson
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Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century Hardcover – Illustrated, April 30, 2010

by Henri Cartier-Bresson (Photographer), Peter Galassi (Contributor)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 117 ratings
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Offers an entirely new understanding of the photographer's extraordinary career and its overlapping contexts of journalism and art

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) is one of the most influential and beloved figures in the history of photography. His inventive work of the early 1930s helped define the creative potential of modern photography. Following World War II, he helped found the Magnum photo agency, which enabled photojournalists to reach a broad audience through magazines such as Life while retaining control over their work. Cartier-Bresson would go on to produce major bodies of photographic reportage, capturing such events as China during the revolution, the Soviet Union after Stalin's death, the United States in the postwar boom and Europe as its older cultures confronted modern realities. Published to accompany an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, this is the first major publication to make full use of the extensive holdings of the Fondation Cartier-Bresson―including thousands of prints and a vast resource of documents relating to the photographer's life and work. The heart of the book surveys Cartier-Bresson's career through 300 photographs divided into 12 chapters. While many of his most famous pictures are included, a great number of images will be unfamiliar even to specialists. A wide-ranging essay by Peter Galassi, Chief Curator of Photography at the Museum, offers an entirely new understanding of Cartier-Bresson's extraordinary career and its overlapping contexts of journalism and art. The extensive supporting material―featuring detailed chronologies of the photographer's professional travels and of spreads of his picture stories as they appeared in magazines―will revolutionize the study of Cartier-Bresson's work.
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  1. Print length
    376 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The Museum of Modern Art, New York
  4. Publication date
    April 30, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    9.8 x 1.6 x 12.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0870707787
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0870707780
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"Born into a prosperous Parisian family in 1908, the precocious Henri Cartier-Bresson was only in his mid-twenties when his wildly inventive pictures, made with a handheld Leica, helped to establish the artistic identity of modern photography. After World War II, his uncanny talent for snatching lasting images from a world in constant motion made him a leading figure in the very different realm of professional photojournalism. In 1947 Cartier-Bresson helped to found the Magnum Photos agency, and within a decade he produced major series of photographs on India and Indonesia at the time of independence, China during the revolution, the Soviet Union after Stalin's death, the United States during the postwar boom, and Europe as its old culture confronted wrenching social and cultural change. By the time he retired from photography in the early 1970s, he had created a body of work unique both in its geographical scope and in its historical overview of the vast social, political and cultural transformations of the modern century." --Excerpted from Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Reprint edition (April 30, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0870707787
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0870707780
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.55 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.8 x 1.6 x 12.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 117 ratings

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Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

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Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 - August 3, 2004) is perhaps the greatest photographer of the twentieth century. In a career spanning over sixty years, he has used his camera as an impassive and neutral third eye to capture the vagaries of human behaviour and to produce some of the most memorable and compelling photographs ever published.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
117 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kim Rammelkamp
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Photography
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2010
Verified Purchase
I saw an exhibit of Cartier-Bresson's work a few months back at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, but instead of purchasing the book at the museum, decided to order it from amazon.com. I got a brand new copy (wrapped) and saved approximately $15 (of what it would have cost me at the museum shop!) The book arrived very quickly. It is absolutely beautiful. The reproduction of these stunning photographs by this world-renowned photographer is incredibly well-done and it is a wonderful book to own and to share with anyone who appreciates good photography. Or just appreciates the moments in a lifetime, because this is what Cartier-Bresson captures...little moments, big moments but mostly moments when his subjects were not even aware they were being photographed. There are photos from all over the world and spanning many decades, some celebrities, but lots of ordinary men, women and children as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in photography and art. You will be mesmerized by his work.
28 people found this helpful
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Col Colt
5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatness of Cartier-Bresson
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2015
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One of the absolutely best photo books I have in my collection. The stories, letters and photographs are simply awe inspiring and you gained significant insight about an unusual man and his travels and photography. Cartier-Bresson ranks at the top of who may very well be the best photographer of our time. I doubt few would argue that point.

I knew the size of the book but it seemed even bigger when I go it and definitely heavier. The binding was superb and printing about as good as it gets. Any fan of this man, his works and photography in general would do well to have this book in their library of great ones.
2 people found this helpful
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Andras Ikladi
5.0 out of 5 stars such an excellent publication, content
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2014
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I couldn't put it down, such an excellent publication, content, editing, additional information (great maps and timeline of his travels) and print quality are top notch. Highly recommended, almost makes up for not seeing the exhibition.
3 people found this helpful
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Stardust
5.0 out of 5 stars About as good as it gets for this kind of book
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020
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Beautifully written and produced on high quality paper, this MOMA curation is as close to perfection as you can hope for a book of its age. I wish all photography/art books could be done with the care and very high production values this volume exemplifies.
2 people found this helpful
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John Chulick
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview for a Famous Photographer
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2010
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This book combines biographical information with photographs from the current traveling exhibition of Henri Cartier-Bresson's work. The introductory material puts the photographer's life into perspective with his world travels as a photojournalist. The collection of photographs covers a wide range and they are reproduced with a reasonably good quality. The book contains a detailed chronology of his travels along with maps showing the various destinations. Perhaps the only weakness is the lack of information of what is being shown for many of the individual photographs, which can be enigmatic at times. I have not yet seen the exhibition yet but I find this to be an excellent book.
8 people found this helpful
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Joey
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Anthology of Cartier-Bresson's Work.
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2011
Verified Purchase
For those of you who couldn't make it to last year's exhibition at MOMA this is the next best thing. It is a solid anthology of one of the world's greatest photographers. Everyone that I've shown this book to are so compelled to flip through every single photograph.

Every aspiring photographer should own a copy, study the seemingly effortless framing and his incredible sense of timing. The two things that really create a compelling photograph instead endless discussion of exposure, noise, sharpness, and other useless crap.
11 people found this helpful
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Ermanno Pannunzio
5.0 out of 5 stars It is very difficult to explain the feeling about this ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2017
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It is very difficult to explain the feeling about this book, that I think is one of masterpiece in photography of the last century. Henri Cartier-Bresson shows us a word in which the people give us the image of their live in every aspect. Do not to miss
2 people found this helpful
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V
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greats
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2010
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MOMA does an excellent job in creating this catalog tome for the Cartier-Bresson exhibit. Excellent reproduction of the images on tour, with additional editorial commentary on this great photographer and his work. It's a large heavy volume that will last a lifetime, just like the images being presented. Make sure you get a chance to see this exhibit. It will be in NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco this year.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Lina Moon
5.0 out of 5 stars Sorpresa
Reviewed in Spain on May 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
Me propuse hacerme con toda la obra de HCB, pero este libro me ha sorprendido.
Una encuadernación exquisita, toda la información posible, incluso los mapas que permiten tener un recorrido de sus viajes fotográficos. Uno de mis favoritos de HCB a un precio excelente para lo que es. Muy recomendable.
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DR HARRY R CLARKE
5.0 out of 5 stars The best
Reviewed in Australia on October 16, 2018
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When I look at modern photo exhibitions I feel nostalgic for the excellence of Bresson. A creative genius who combined intuition and feel for geometry with great decisive moments. Good collection of his major works and the text at the beginning excellent.
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Word Soup
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greats of photography.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2014
Verified Purchase
HCB is one of the great seminal photographers associated with the Magnum foundation. To understand the essence of photography his work has to be delicately viewed and reviewed. Simply, he was the best. I bought this book to source valuable information and references for my dissertation which focussed on surrealism and existentialism.
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lol
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2018
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Excellent book ...
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Tanja Rantalainen
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2015
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Quick delivery, excellent product
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