Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer and filmmaker born August 22, 1908 (Meade 2016). Cartier-Bresson began to take his medium seriously in 1930 before venturing to Africa in 1931 where he documented his experience living in the bush on a miniature camera (Scharf 2020).
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
Martine’s Legs (Henri Cartier-Bresson 1967)
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
The image was produced in 1967 (Magnum photos 2014).
How was the photo or video authored?
Cartier-Bresson’s work was spontaneous and captured “the decisive moment” (Phillips 2012, para 2). His aim was to capture everyday life in its integrity. His work was mainly shot on a small, handheld camera. The camera used was a Leica rangefinder with a 50mm lens. This set-up allowed for Cartier-Bresson to quickly and efficiently shoot the world around him as it didn’t require a viewfinder (Rockwell 2012).
How was the photo or video published?
Martine’s Legs was a gelatin silver print. The process of publishing a gelatin silver print is done in a dark room and produces a black and white print. The paper is emerged in chemicals that contain both gelatin and silver salts. The film that was taken on the camera then has a light projected through it onto the paper. After a few more chemical baths it is hung to dry, as the chemicals continue to develop the image (Fenstermaker 2017). To finish, Cartier-Bresson signed in ink and placed in the margin a copyright credit blindstamp (Phillips 2012).
How was the photo or video distributed?
Magnum photos has the rights to Cartier-Bresson’s images and therefore is the main distributer, selling Martine’s legs for $9375 (Phillips 2012). However, this image can be found on multiple internet websites by using a simple search engine.
References
Jackie Mead November 2016, Henri Cartier-Bresson Artist Overview and Analysis, The Art Story, viewed 14 April 2020 <https://www.theartstory.org/artist/cartier-bresson-henri/>
Aaron Scharf February 2020, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Encyclopaedia Britannica, viewed 14 April 2020 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Cartier-Bresson>
Henri Cartier-Bresson 1967, Martine’s Legs, photograph, viewed 26 April 2020 <https://pro.magnumphotos.com/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchDetail&PN=277&IID=2S5RYDWNN11L>
Magnum Photos 2014, Martine’s Legs, Magnum Photos, viewed 26 April 2020 <https://pro.magnumphotos.com/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchDetail&PN=277&IID=2S5RYDWNN11L>
Phillips 2012, Photographs, Phillips, viewed 14 April 2020 <https://www.phillips.com/detail/henri-cartierbresson/NY040212/161>
Ken Rockwell November 2012, Cartier-Bresson and the LEICA, Ken Rockwell, viewed 14 April 2020 <https://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/cartier-bresson.htm>
Will Fenstermaker April 2017, From C-Print to Silver Gelatin: The Ultimate Guide to Photo Prints, Artspace, viewed 14 April 2020 <https://www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/collecting-101/whats-a-chromogenic-pigment-or-gelatin-print-the-ultimate-guide-to-digital-and-chemical-photo-54752>