Book Description
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) and Alberto Giacometti (19011966) became friends in the mid-1930s in Paris. Both were seeking a way out of surrealism that would lead back to reality. Giacometti returned to life studies, Cartier-Bresson exchanged his brush for a camera. The content of this volume revolves around the many mutual resonances in the work of these two great artists. The book opens with shots of Giacometti taken by Cartier-Bresson over a period of three decades. At the same time, the inner workings of the artists friendship is illuminated by a comparison between the two as draughtsmenboth searching for the instant décisifand by the question of how the photographs of one and the paintings and drawings of the other are used in por-traiture. This is a unique encounter of two giants of 20th century art and photography!In their essays, Tobia Bezzola, curator at the Kunst-haus Zurich and Yves Bonnefoy, poet and writer, not only follow the traces of this exceptional friendship with accuracy, but also place the work and visual dialogue between the two creative voices within the frame of the history of surrealist and Modern Art.This book was produced in collaboration with Henri-Cartier Bresson, the Alberto Giacometti Foundation and the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris.
Henri Cartier-Bresson and Alberto Giacometti FROM THE PUBLISHER
Henri Cartier-Bresson and Alberto Giacometti became friends in the mid-1930s in Paris. Both were seeking a way out of Surrealism that would lead them back to reality. Giacometti returned to life studies; Cartier-Bresson exchanged his brush for a camera. The content of this volume revolves around the many mutual resonances in the work of these two great artists.The book opens with photographs of Giacometti taken by Cartier-Bresson over a period of three decades. The inner workings of the artists' friendship is illuminated by a comparison between their respective work as draughtsmen, their search for the "decisive moment," and the question of how the photographs of one and the paintings and drawings of the other are used in portraiture. The result is a unique encounter between two giants of 20th-century art and photography.In his in-depth essay, Tobia Bezzola, curator at the Kunsthaus Zurich, not only follows the traces of this exceptional friendship with accuracy, but also places their work and visual dialogue within the frame of the history of Surrealist and modern art.This book is produced in collaboration with Henri-Cartier Bresson, the Alberto Giacometti Foundation, and the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris.