Cartier-Bresson, Henri << kah TYAY breh SAWN, ahn REE >> (1908-2004), was a French photographer known for his ability to capture the significance of an event by the arrangement of people and objects in a scene. Cartier-Bresson’s photographs often combine a unique moment with geometric patterns or shapes.
Cartier-Bresson was born on Aug. 22, 1908, in Chanteloup, near Paris. He became a photographer in 1930, after studying painting and literature. He photographed news events throughout the world for newspapers and magazines. In 1947, Cartier-Bresson helped found Magnum, an agency that provides publishers with photographs.
Cartier-Bresson worked with a small, handheld camera. He chiefly used black-and-white film because he believed color took attention from a photographer’s subject. He rarely used lens filters or flash equipment, preferring natural light to illuminate his subjects. Books featuring his photos include studies of Asia, Europe, and the United States. In the 1970’s, he withdrew from photography and turned to painting and drawing. He died on Aug. 3, 2004.
