Cartier-Bresson’s achievements

From 1932 to 1934, Cartier-Bresson traveled to the Mediterranean coast, Mexico, and the United States with a camera on his shoulder. Many of the early masterpieces collected in the collection Decisive Moments were all shot during this period. The style deftly captures the unreality of life. Children playing in the ruins and children standing by the Spanish earthen walls, these works give people the feeling of being intoxicated in fantasy. When he went to New York, he held a personal photo exhibition. However, in the photography world dominated by the Salon School at that time, although some people spoke highly of his personality, most people held a negative attitude. His works were branded as "anti-style photography" and were severely criticized as "warm, contradictory, anti-style, and accidental photos."

The young Bresson is still forging ahead. He shot back: "Do you understand my pictures?" If his pictures had been accepted by the photography community at that time, it is safe to say that they would never have developed into the new style now. Precisely because the photography industry did not accept it, Bresson's self-confidence increased and he was greatly inspired. During the same period, he also served as an assistant film director. As Rulnaru's assistant, he traveled to various places and worked hard to study photography. Movies cannot be edited, and all compositions are determined in the viewfinder. In photography, like movies, the original composition cannot be changed. Cartier-Bresson devoted all his energy to this work and became very interested in it.

Bresson is Bresson after all. He traveled through the civil strife in Spain and attended the coronation of George VI. Rather than going to participate, it is better to say that he went to point the camera at those celebrities. At the beginning of World War II, he joined the army with the film troupe and later became a prisoner of the German army. In three years, he tried to escape twice and failed. The third time he finally succeeded. He returned to Paris and joined the Resistance. During this period, he took many portraits of people in the cultural and artistic circles. Portraits of Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Rouault, Sartor and others are collected as masterpieces in his Decisive Moment.

In 1944, Paris was liberated. However, Cartier-Bresson did not take any photos of liberation. He participated in the resistance movement and was very busy. Of course, he still took some pictures reflecting the trial of German accomplices by the citizens of Paris. He also directed the film "The Return" as the protagonist of a prisoner of war repatriated from the front line. This was in 1945. The liberation of Paris was a great joy for Bresson. However, what excited him even more was the meeting with Capa, Seymour and others whom he had no information about before. In 1947, they traveled across the United States, joined by George, Roger and Alia Eisner along the way, and Magnum was finally on the right track. In the same year, Cartier-Bresson held a two-month personal photo exhibition of 161 works at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This exhibition is a big step forward for Cartier-Bresson to become a world master.