'One of the Greatest of All Photobooks'
CARTIER-BRESSON, Henri. Images à la Sauvette. Paris: Verve. 1952.
4to. Original pictorial paper-covered boards reproducing an original design by Henri Matisse, lacking dust-jacket; pp. 158, including 126 black-and-white photographs; light browning to the spine, otherwise a fine copy.
First French edition, issued simultaneously with the American edition, containing some of the photographer’s most celebrated
works.
Images à la Sauvette has been described as ‘one of the greatest of all photobooks’ (Parr & Badger, p. 209). One of the most representative collections of Cartier-Bresson’s work, it was described by Robert Capa as ‘a bible for photographers’. This publication reveals the duality of the photographer’s work, between intimate snapshots and his documentary approach. Cartier-Bresson’s characteristic clarity of vision and ability to capture the fragility of social life unifies his subjects with humour and dignity.
The French publisher Tériade, known for collaborations with artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Miró, had planned a book with Cartier-Bresson in the late 1930s but the project was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War. Following the photographer’s landmark
retrospective at MoMA in 1947, Tériade finally published Images à la Sauvette in 1952, which appeared at the same time as a US edition titled The Decisive Moment, issued in New York by Simon and Schuster. Matisse provided original collage illustration for the cover design of both editions.
Parr & Badger I, 208.
SKU: 2119673