Henri Cartier-Bresson’s body of work might seem too familiar, like old news even — his photographic vernacular is a cornerstone of the medium’s long modernist winter — but that ceases to matter in the face of a survey the size and scope of Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century. Opening today at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, this retrospective is the largest review of the photographer’s career to date. It documents Cartier-Bresson’s presence at the decisive moments of the 20th century, from Europe’s shell-shocked emergence from World War II to China’s Great Leap Forward, making clear the degree to which his photographs helped define the West’s historical imagination.
The show runs through June 28th, 2010, before traveling to Chicago and Atlanta.
Photography by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
