Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Behind Gare St. Lazare

Preview image of work. gelatin silver print, Behind Gare St. Lazare 22435

2010.68.2

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Behind Gare St. Lazare

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Artist

Henri Cartier-Bresson (Chanteloup (outside Paris), France, 8/22/1908 – 8/2/2004, l'Ile-sur-Sorgue, France)

Title

Behind Gare St. Lazare

Creation Date

1932 (printed 1960?)

Century

early-mid 20th century

Dimensions

13 15/16 in. x 11 in. (35.4 cm x 27.94 cm)

Classification

Photographs

Creation Place

Europe, France

Medium and Support

gelatin silver print

Credit Line

Gift of Isaac Lagnado, Class of 1971

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2010.68.2

Behind Gare St. Lazare perfectly captures a “decisive moment,” the phrase Henri Cartier-Bresson coined to encapsulate his photographic philosophy. He stuck his camera’s lens through a narrow gap in a fence, recording by chance a man mid-leap over a puddle. The photograph holds this frozen silhouette in an uneasy balance. The mirror-like flooded yard creates an uncanny double of the scene. This coming together of disparate elements exemplifies “objective chance,” the surrealist concept of meaningful coincidences which had a great influence on Cartier-Bresson at this early stage of his career.