Cartier-Bresson, Henri

(1908- )

   photographer

   Born in Chanteloup, Henri Cartier-Bresson was educated at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris. Known for his reportage work, he was originally interested in painting and took up photography later, in 1930. Beginning in 1931, he traveled worldwide, and his photographs were published in books, magazines, and newspapers and also frequently exhibited. He had a unique ability to capture the fleeting moment in which his subject's significance is revealed. This Cartier-Bresson terms the "decisive moment." During World War II, he spent over two years in German prison camps. After his escape, he joined the resistance as a member of a photographic unit that recorded the Occupation and the German retreat. In 1945, he directed the documentary film Le Retour and two years later had a major one-person exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 1955, he became the first photographer to exhibit at the louvre. Cartier-Bresson highlighted through photography the spirit and events of contemporary life.