Week 5: Analogue Photography
Nude, Italy
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practising?
Henri Cartier-Bresson, a French photographer considered himself a surrealist artist, but was labelled a photojournalist. He firstly became interested in surrealism paintings, soon moving on to photography. He began taking pictures in 1926, but later became more serious with his work in 1931. He approached photography like an artist, he was interested in the structure, the composition and the relationship between shapes in images.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
The title of the photograph is Italy, taken in 1933, at the start of Henri’s photography career. I found it through the website of the MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art, a famous art museum in New York. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/54904?artist_id=1000&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist.
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
It was produced in 1933.
How was the photo or video authored?
Henri Cartier-Bresson used a Leica camera for most of his career, particularly using a 50mm lens. Therefore, it is highly likely this photograph was shot using this. He was gifted his first camera in 1926 by Harry Crosby. In 1931, 2 years before this photograph was taken, he moved to Marseille where he acquired the Leica camera with a 50mm lens, which he then used continuously.
For this photo in particular, the style of it gives off a certain ambiguity through the geometry of the body. Henri produces unusual photos, which can have unpredictable meanings. However, this photograph is quite candid. What i find particularly interesting is the use of colour: the black and white aspect, the contrast of the dark water, to the pale naked body floating in the dark water, the abyss.
How was the photo or video published and distributed?
It is difficult to find where this photograph was originally published. However, it is highly likely it could have been published in his book, A Decisive Moment (1952). On the MoMA website, it is stated to have been printed in 1986 via Gelatin silver print. It is currently accessible through the website Paddle8 and MoMA, whilst not being accessible via Magnum Photo’s, a co-operative website co-founded by Cartier-Bresson himself.
References
MoMA. Henri Cartier-Bresson. Italy 1933. Available from: <https://www.moma.org/collection/works/54904?artist_id=1000&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist> [Accessed 20/04/2020].
Paddle8. Henri Cartier-Bresson. Nude Italy. Avaialble from: <https://paddle8.com/work/henri-cartier-bresson/184809-italy/> [Accessed 20/04/2020].