March 8th 2012
Robert Doisneau at the Hotel de Ville
If you are a fan of Robert Doisneau or you don’t know him yet but you are dabbling into street photography , then this is your chance as the Hotel de Ville is exhibiting “Doisneau / Paris / Les Halles” till the 28th of April.
On display are over 200 vintage photos of Les Halles markets dubbed as the stomach of Paris, from the 30s to the 60s when it was teeming with life from dusk till dawn, where the subjects of his photographs were the workers unloading the trucks of goods, the butchers, the fishmongers, the florists, the traffic, the customers, the singing in cafes - and up to the 70s when the emotional transformation took place, the closing of the market that left a big hole and eventually, the death of that district, all these as seen through the lens of Robert Doisneau.
Entrance is free but you have to go as early as 8:30 in the morning as the queue could be daunting!
The sign at the gate says “Sharp objects - or cutlery (?) - not allowed to bring in.” I wonder if the owner found if it was still there on her way out…
Robert Doisneau (1912–1994) was a French photographer. In the 1930s he used a Leica on the streets of Paris; together with Henri Cartier-Bresson he was a pioneer of photojournalism. He is renowned for his 1950 image Le baiser de l’hôtel de ville (Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville), a photo of a couple kissing in the busy streets of Paris. Robert Doisneau was appointed a Chevalier (Knight) of the National Order of the Légion d’honneur in 1984.
Robert Doisneau was known for his modest, playful, and ironic images of amusing juxtapositions, mingling social classes, and eccentrics in contemporary Paris streets and cafes. Influenced by the work of André Kertész, Eugène Atget, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, in over twenty books Doisneau presented a charming vision of human frailty and life as a series of quiet, incongruous moments.
Robert Doisneau is one of France’s best known photographers, for his street photography and the many playful images in everyday French life. His photographs over the course of several decades provide people with a great record of French life. He has published over twenty books with realistic and charming pictures of personal moments in the lives of individuals. (wikipedia)
Robert Doisneau, self-portrait, 1947
Les Halles Market, 1953
(How can they relieve themselves with all these hullabaloo around them!)
“The marvels of daily life are so exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.” Robert Doisneau.
The photographer must be absorbent–like a blotter, allow himself to be permeated by the poetic moment…. His technique should be like an animal function…he should act automatically. ~ Robert Doisneau
The Cheese Vault, 1959
“I don’t photograph life as it is, but life as I would like it to be,” Robert Doisneau
If I knew how to take a good photograph, I’d do it every time. ~ Robert Doisneau
The innocent, 1949
Pause repas, 1971 (Stopping for lunch)
This is my favorite as it’s fascinating to find out that this Rat shop has been exactly the same since 1971
And this is my photo in 2009.
