An empathetic lens: Robert Doisneau's eye for human experience
As sensitive to human suffering as to the simple pleasures of life, Robert Doisneau is one of the most celebrated exponents of the humanist photography that swept through the 1950s. Cherished in particular for his soulful portraits of Paris, Doisneau demonstrated a unique ability to find—and perfectly frame—charismatic characters, entertaining episodes and fleeting moments of humor and affection. Even in the most humble of contexts, he distilled the emotions and encounters that shape life.
A summation of a spectacular career, this celebration presents Doisneau's most loved images alongside many lesser-known pictures, some previously unpublished, which rejoice in 'the ordinary gestures of ordinary people in ordinary situations'. The many quotations from the photographer that run the length of the volume immerse the reader in Doisneau's thoughts, as well as his photographs, and give verbal expression to the sensitivity, warmth and wit which characterize his pictures.
Through more than 500 images, we are transported to the grim suburbs of Doisneau's youth; through the world of manual labor whose nobility he so admired; and to the studios of the many groundbreaking artists that Doisneau captured in moments of reflection and creativity. A number of color shots of Palm Springs and the transformed neighborhoods of Doisneau's childhood reveal a different, more critical, eye to the master photographer.
For this new monograph about all aspects of the life and oeuvre of Robert Doisneau his long-time friend and TASCHEN author Jean Claude Gautrand had unlimited access to Doisneau's extensive photo archive, and the preface comes by Doisneau's daughters Francine Deroudille and Annette Doisneau.
