Book: Henri Cartier Bresson: The Modern Century

Black and white image of a topless seated male leaning his head back against a stone wall, arms crossed over and hands clenched, wearing open waisted jeans, to the right side of him an old shelving unit containing ladies heeled worn shoes scattered on the shelves

'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. Santa Clara, Mexico. 1934. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

(Image credit: TBC)

By Jonathan Bell

last updated 20 August 2022

in Features

An appropriately monumental work to accompany MoMA's current Cartier-Bresson exhibition, The Modern Century is a visual travelogue through the photographer's long career.

From the 1930s, when Cartier-Bresson helped pioneer street photography through to the raw photojournalism of the post-war era and essays on the emerging cultural and political landscape, The Modern Century is a rich document for devotees of stark, emotive imagery.

The book contains some 300 images from the MoMA exhibition, as well as exhaustive essays on Cartier-Bresson's travels (complete with annotated maps), his publications and contributions, as well as biographical details.

HCB's energy and exceptional timing are unrivalled in the history of photography. His involvement with the creation of Magnum, along with Robert Capa and Bill Vandivert, was to shape the way the media consumed, created and sought out visual imagery.

Black and white 1938 French image of two men and two women sat on blankets on a grass verge enjoying a picnic, drinking wine and eating food, to the bottom of the shot is water with a narrow boat floating near to the waters edge — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. Juvisy, France. 1938. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Black and white 1945 image of a middle aged couple, dressed in black, sombre facial expressions, with clenched hands, light protruding from window light to the left of the shot — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie, Paris. 1945. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Black and white 1958 World's Fair in Brussels Image, two young boys dressed in caps and overcoats, looking at their surroundings, one boy is pointing, backdrop of multiple army planes flying in the sky — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. World's Fair, Brussels. 1958. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.'

Black and white 1932 French image, stone spiral steps with black metal guide rail, stone road below, action shot of man on a bicycle, stone walls and narrow cobbled street — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. Hyeres, France. 1932. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Black and white image of Sumatra, Indonesia 1950, back of a man in Indonesian dress looking onto raised segmented pools of water, shrub borders, palm trees, people in white attire in the distance, roof tops of small houses, surrounding landscape in the back drop — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. Sumatra, Indonesia 1950. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Black and white image of New York City,1946. Close up shot of a crowd of people in smart dress, some men in dark colour trilby hats, older women hugging a younger man who is on the other side of a partition fence, holding a tissue to his face — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. New York City. 1946. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Black and white image of a crowd San Fermines, Pamplona, Spain. 1952, older lady smartly dressed with a spanish fan, matadors are at the bottom of the shot two are deep in conversation — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. San Fermines, Pamplona, Spain. 1952. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Black and white action shot in Shanghai, China. 1948. Men and women holding on to each other in a pushing crowd, stone steps to the front — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. Shanghai, China. 1948. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Black and white image, Greenfield, Indiana. 1960, two mature smiling ladies finely dressed coming out of voting station, two male candidate images in the shop windows — 'Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century'. Greenfield, Indiana. 1960. Courtesy of Henri Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum Photos.

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.

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