Henri Cartier-Bresson. Cina 1948-49 / 1958

Spazio Mudec Photo, February 18 to July 3, 2022

Over one hundred original prints and a collection of documents and archival materials tell the story of the great French photographer’s historic reportage of the “last days of Beijing”

“Eye of the century”-that is how Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), one of the most important cultural figures of the 20th century and considered the pioneer of photojournalism, is called.

The exhibition and accompanying guide bring together an exceptional body of photographs and archival documents by the French photojournalist. An unprecedented excursus recounting two key moments in China’s history: the fall of the Kuomintang and the establishment of the communist regime (1948-1949) and Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward” (1958).

An important moment in the history of world photojournalism, experienced through the personal approach of the master Cartier-Bresson, who first highlighted-through the eye of his lens-important themes of change in contemporary Chinese history, managing to present to the Western world even aspects kept hidden by regime propaganda such as the exploitation of human resources and the omnipresence of militias.

A unique style capable of capturing the immediacy and truthfulness of the “decisive instant.” In this perspective, the use of black and white in his photographs allows him to highlight the form and substance of reality. Each of his shots thus able to capture the contemporaneity of things and life.

BY
Michel Frizot and Ying-Lung Su and produced in collaboration with Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.