The shot of the young couple kissing, indifferent to the crowd of passers-by and the traffic of the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville in Paris, is one of the well-known photographs in the world. The author is Robert Doisneau, the great master of photography to whom the exhibition is dedicated, curated by Gabriel Bauret and scheduled from 15 November 2023 to 14 February 2024 at Palazzo della Gran Guardia, Verona.
Along with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau is considered one of the founding fathers of French Humanist Photography and Street Photojournalism. With his camera lens he captures the daily life of men and women who populate Paris and its banlieue, with all the emotions of gestures and situations in which they are engaged.
Over 130 black and white silver salt prints from the collection of the Atelier Robert Doisneau in Montrouge will be exhibited. It is in this atelier that the photographer printed and archived his photographs for over fifty years, and it was there where he died in 1994, leaving a legacy of almost 450,000 negatives.
Therefore, whether it is photographs made on commission or the result of his free wandering around Paris, we see a style imbued with a particular mindset emerging, which also transpires in his writings and in the captions of the photographs; a style that mixes charm and fantasy, but also a freedom of expression not far from Surrealism. The multitude of characters and stories that populate Doisneau's work translates into an artistic attitude and a philosophy of life. If the style is the man, as Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon says, in the same way Doisneau's photography identifies itself with some of his subjects to express a sort of restlessness or melancholy.
Doisneau's work is in fact an expression of an empathic gaze, which even becomes tenderly involved when he photographs lovers and children. “I like - explains Doisneau - people for their weaknesses and defects. I get along well with ordinary people. We talk. We start talking about time and gradually we get to the important things. When I photograph them it is not as if I were there examining them with a magnifying glass, like a cold and scientific observer. It's a very fraternal thing, and it's wonderful to shed light on those people who are never in the spotlight." “The photographer must be like blotting paper, he must let himself be penetrated by the poetic moment. His technique should be like an animal function, and must act automatically."
Within the exhibition, clips from Clémentine Deroudille's film Robert Doisneau. Le Révolté du merveilleux and an interview with the curator Gabriel Bauret.
exhibition catalogue
INFO
Palazzo della Gran Guardia, Verona
15 November 2023 - 14 February 2024
Timetable
Sunday - Friday: 10.00 - 19.30
Saturday: 10.00 - 20.30
Tickets
Full price: 12,00 €
Discount: 10,00 €
Schools: 4,00 €
Family Ticket: adults 10,00 €, children 4,00 €
Open Ticket (available online only)
Full price: 13,50 €
Family Ticket Adult: 11,50 €
Family Ticket Children: 5,50 €
Press
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Ref. Simone Raddi simone@studioesseci.net