Henri Cartier Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a French photographer considered a master of candid photography and one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. Born in Chanteloup, France, Cartier-Bresson co-founded Magnum Photos, a cooperative photo agency owned by its member photographers. His philosophy of “the decisive moment”—capturing an event that is ephemeral and spontaneous—fundamentally shaped modern photojournalism. His work, which spans from the Surrealism movement of the 1930s through the post-war period, provides a profound documentary account of society, ranging from the Spanish Civil War to the French uprisings of 1968.