Paris through the lens of Robert Doisneau

"For a photographer, the first seventy years are a bit difficult but after that things get better,” the artist’s daughters humorously quote their father in the foreword of the lavish volume, Paris. If this held true, Robert Doisneau still enjoyed nearly 12 great years before he passed away in Paris in 1994, just shy of his 82nd birthday.

The selection shown in this new monograph was compiled by Jean Claude Gautrand (1932–2019) – photographer, author and, above all, Robert Doisneau’s long-time friend. The book retraces Doisneau’s life and work in five chronological chapters – honouring him as an important representative of “photographie humaniste” and lauding his empathetic, often humorous perspective on everyday life in the streets of Paris. 

While the weighty volume also offers new discoveries, it of course includes plenty of legendary works, many of which were taken with Leica cameras. His most famous scene (this time without a Leica) graces the book’s cover: The Hôtel de Ville Kiss of 1950 – an apparent snapshot of a couple kissing outside of Paris Town Hall. The image became a quintessential tribute to the city of love. The fact that it was partly orchestrated (as has long been widely known) does nothing to detract from its charm: it still embodies everything we love about this masterful visual poet and flaneur.

Jean Claude Gautrand: Robert Doisneau. Paris
25 × 34 cm, 440 pages, colour and b/w illustrations, English/French/German, Taschen Publishing
www.taschen.com