Looking for Love on the Left Bank
Looking for Love on the Left Bank
June 15, 2017
Paris, 1959, ‘Love on the Left Bank’
© Bibliothèque Universitaire de Leide, the Nederlands
The Dutch photographer and film maker (1925–1990) was renowned for his radical disregard for the conventions of reportage photography, and his innovative, subjective visual language.
In 1950, the photographer moved to Paris, initially working as a photo lab technician for the Magnum Photos agency. He soon began to portray the residents of Saint-Germain de Près – documenting the lives of artists, poets, free spirits and bohemians in an entirely unique, sensuous visual style. With great skill and a well-practised eye, he captured scenes of an almost cinematic nature: each of his images seems to contain an entire story. When the resulting photo book Looking for Love on the Left Bank (Une histoire d’amour à Saint Germain de Près) was published in 1956, it was instantly met with international acclaim.
The gallery’s location in the Saint-Germain-de-Près quarter of Paris – right at the heart of the Left Bank – is a most fitting venue to let these images come back to life.
Further information at Galerie Folia
Paris, 1959, ‘Love on the Left Bank’
© Bibliothèque Universitaire de Leide, the Nederlands
Paris, 1959, deuxième maquette de ‘Love on the Left Bank’
© Bibliothèque Universitaire de Leide, the Nederlands