The Philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre

The Philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre, Pont des Arts, Paris 1946

Magnum

While 'Documentary Photographer' is a simple and convenient way of describing Henri Cartier-Bresson, it is - like many broad characterizations - also a euphemism. Cartier-Bresson, one of the earliest users of 35mm cameras and film, had great curiosity in, and enthusiasm for, the way the world looked as a photograph, regardless of the topic addressed. The compact size of 35mm allowed him to have his Leicas with him constantly, and to photograph when and where he pleased, with minimal setup or constraint. Consequently, his subject matter knew few limits.
For example, it would not be an exaggeration to state that he made perhaps thousands of 'environmental' (that is; in situ, as opposed to in front of a blank seamless à la Richard Avedon) portraits of individuals throughout his long career, including many of the more important artists, scientists, thinkers and statesmen of the 20th century, more than a few of whom were his friends.
One of the better known examples of this might be the Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, a fellow Frenchman only 3 years Cartier-Bresson's senior. They both experienced Paris in the 1920s as the western world's cultural center, as well as the occupied Paris of the Second World War.
This 1946 image of Sartre (along with the architect Jean Pouillon) on the cover of The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre is one of Cartier-Bresson's most widely recognized portraits. Sartre smokes his pipe, seemingly lost in thought, a virtual stereotype of a philosopher. At first glance, the same photograph appears on the cover of Ronald Hayman's biography of Sartre, albeit with the background of the Post des Arts removed (see 'Multiple Uses' below. Closer inspection, however, reveals this photo not to be the same, but a subtle variant, almost certainly shot on the same roll of film, if not an adjacent frame. KB