Henri CARTIER-BRESSON - Portfolio. Electa Editrice (1979)

Item Details

Milano, Electa Editrice, 1979, Portfolio

1st. edition, Very good +

Milan, Electa Editrice, 1979, Portfolio. Limitation no. 432 of an edition of 1000 numbered copies. 12" x 16"  (40 x 29.5cm), 4 pages + 12 plates. Edited by Daniela Palazzoli, published on the occasion of Venezia '79 / La Fotografia. Text by Henri Cartier Bresson and a biography in Italian and English  Loose boards in black and white. List of prints with titles and captions. Biography Specimens pulled in héliogravure on special paper specially designed for Electa Portfolios. Cardboard slipcase stamped in red with photographer's name.  Loose sheets in folder (loose as issued in original portfolio)

“Photography has not changed its original characters, except in the technical aspects, which for me, have never been a major concern. Photography may seem an easy activity: It is instead a varied and ambiguous activity and the only common denominator among those who practice it the instrument. The product that comes out of this recorder does not escape the economic constraints of a world dominated by ever-increasing tensions and unpredictable ecological risks. Manipulated or posed photography does not interest me. And if I make a judgment, it can only be psychological and sociological. There are those who take prepared photographs, and there are those who go out to discover the image and catch it on the fly. 

For me, the camera is a sketchbook, the instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the moment, in visual terms, questioning and deciding together. 

In order to express the world, one must feel implicated in what one carves out through the viewfinder. This attitude demands concentration, spiritual discipline, sensitivity and a sense of geometry. Only with great economy of means can simplicity of expression be achieved. One must always photograph with the utmost respect for the subject and oneself. 

To photograph means to hold one's breath when all our faculties are concentrated before the elusive reality; then capturing the image becomes a great joy. To photograph means, in the same instant, to recognize a fact and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that express and determine this fact. It means putting the head, the 'eye and the heart on the same line of sight. As far as I am concerned, photographing is a way of understanding, which cannot be separated of the other tools of expression and visual communication. It is a chance to shout, to free oneself and not to demonstrate or assert one's originality. It is a way of living.”

(Henri Cartier Bresson, from the introductory text).

In the late seventies and early eighties, the Gruppo Editoriale Electa in Milano, Italy published a series of portfolios of some great photographers. These are known as the Electa Editrice portfolios.