Hyères

[Hyères, 1932].
1 black silver print (36 x 25 cm), signed in ink in the lower right margin. Framed.

An iconic image from the french Master photographer.

We apologize for the imperfect translation generated by Deepl for the purposes of the show.

“Hyères” was taken at the very beginning of Cartier-Bresson’s photographic career, after his return from a trip to Africa in 1931. He stood at the top of a staircase on rue Edith-Warton, triggering his 50mm Leica, purchased a few days earlier in Marseille, at the fleeting passage of a cyclist.

Around 1931,” said Cartier-Bresson, “I saw a photograph by Martin Munkàcsi […] three black children running in the waves. I must say that it was this photo that set the world on fire. There is in this picture such an intensity, such a spontaneity, such a joy of living”. He then abandoned his initial training – painting and literature – and devoted himself to photography. At the beginning of 1932, he was in Hyères.

The framing chosen by the artist is not insignificant and proves the aesthetics sought in this urban landscape. A spiral is drawn with the staircase and its metal railing answering that of the sidewalk below. A perfect geometric construction, which transports the viewer into the whirlwind of this descent; an almost mathematical composition – when we know that Cartier-Bresson was very influenced by the Romanian Matila Ghyka’s work on the Golden Number, published the same year. Following this first trip to the Côte d’Azur, he traveled to Italy, Spain, Morocco and Mexico, developing what would become one of the major photographic works of the 20th century.

Everything here contributes to the dynamism of the photograph. It is the perfect illustration of Bresson’s motto: To “signify” the world, one must feel involved in what one is cutting through the viewfinder. “By pressing the shutter release of his Leica, Cartier-Bresson stopped the movement, but at the same time he was able to produce images that, through their framing, composition and rhythm, retained the dynamism of the action. According to the principle of dialectical synthesis, they are thus both in motion and at rest: fixed and explosive.” (Chéroux 2014, p.86.)

The railing, black and curved, is now white, and angular: the cobblestones of the street have been covered with bitumen.