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French street photographer – Robert Doisneau

May 22, 2013

I admire the photography of Robert Doisneau and I’ve been wanting to do a post on his photographic art for ages. He is one of France’s favourite photographers, best known for his street photography and his many insightful and playful images on everyday French life. As one of the first pioneers of outdoor photojournalism, his prolific output covered ironic images of amusing juxtapositions, mingling social classes, and eccentrics in contemporary Paris streets and cafes.

Roberts deep appreciation of the pure moments he witnessed on his journeys around France was continually evident in his images and was his ongoing affirmation of the beauty of life and his love of humanity. I feel this personal quality bestowed him the gift of being in the right place at the right time to observe these visual treats unfolding.

Doisneau captured a charming vision of human frailty, peoples foibles and life as a series of quiet, incongruous moments. He made the claim, “ the marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street. “ His photographs over the course of several decades encapsulated a remarkable account of life on the streets of France and immortalized the magic of Paris for posterity. He appears to have a genuine empathy for his subjects and his images exude a touching depth of feeling.

‘Angels And Leeks’ – 1953

‘Concierge rue du Dragon ‘- Robert Doisneau

Surrealist sculptor Alberto Giacometti in his studio – 1957

( Robert Doisneau shop – virtual galleries of photographs – Doisneau – Painters and sculptors series )

Robert Doisneau – Paris Seine, 1949

Woman with dog Paris.Ca.1890

Photographer unknown

Barbarian prisoner and Callipygian Venus, Versailles Robert Doisneau – 1966

‘Venus Grabbed by the Throat’, 1964

‘Small children milk’ -1945 Robert Doisneau

‘Banquistes the Place de la Bastille ‘- 1945

( Fairground series )

‘Street Musicians’, London 1956

‘Bebop cellar, Vieux Colombier’ 1951 – Robert Doisneau

‘The painter and his model’, Paris 1949

‘The Painter of the Pont des Arts’

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” You’ve got to struggle against the pollution of intelligence in order to become an animal with very sharp instincts – a sort of intuitive medium – so that taking a photograph becomes a magical act, and slowly other more suggestive images begin to appear behind the visible image, for which the photographer cannot be held responsible.” ~ Robert Doisneau

‘The potter’s wheel’, Saint Armand en Puisaye 1945

‘The Shower’ – 1949 Robert Doisneau

‘The Children of Place Hebert’ – Robert Doisneau

Jacques Tati – Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday

A French movie full of sight gags, irony and inimitable warmth and charm, not dissimilar to Robert Doisneau’s photographs.

‘une femme passe’ 1948 – Robert Doisneau

Robert Doisneau

‘Street Lamp on rue Vilin’, 1969

Robert Doisneau- ‘Snow in New York Maurice Baquet’ 1960

‘Ronde d’enfants devant l’abbatiale de Marmoutier’ – Robert Doisneau, 1945

‘Paris street sweeper’ – Robert Doisneau

Bob and Rick – Le cirque by Robert Doisneau

Robert Doisneau, ‘Dream Girls’ 1952

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‘” I like people for their weaknesses and faults. I get on well with ordinary people. We talk. We start with the weather, and little by little we get to the important things. When I photograph them it is not as if I were examining them with a magnifying glass, like a cold and scientific observer. It’s very brotherly. And it’s better, isn’t it, to shed some light on those people who are never in the limelight.” ~ Robert Doisneau

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‘The diver Pont d’Iena’ – Robert Doisneau –1945

‘Les Chien du Marquis de Cuevas, Bois de Boulogne’

‘L’Accordéoniste de la Rue Mouffetard’

Paris 1951

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Doisneau was able to fix this radiant gravity that isolated a man from the crowd, and in these moments of grace create an ” illusion of time ” as if in a ” geometric dream. ” – Jean-François Chevrier

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