Henri Cartier-Bresson Exhibit, Barcelona

Henri Cartier-Bresson Exhibit, #2, Barcelona, 2025

“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.”

“Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.”

– Henri Cartier-Bresson

The Exhibit

Get there while you can as this exhibit is an amazing selection of the master’s life’s work–and the last day is this Sunday, January 26, 2025–.

FURTHERMORE… keep this venue on your radar in the future as the Foundation regularly brings to the city the work of the world’s most historically important photogs, along with smaller exhibits featuring up-and-coming artists:

Fundación MAPFRE, Barcelona, Spain

Henri Cartier Bresson Exhibit, #1, Barcelona, 2025

Have You Seen Any Of These Before?

The four examples that follow are from my iPhone. Interestingly, photography of the photography was permitted at the exhibit. Go figure.

You will likely recognize at least one of these images, even if you are not completely familiar with Cartier-Bresson. He is, of course, best known as the originator of the concept of “the decisive moment” in photography (especially obvious in the first and last photos below). His genius was in his impressive anticipatory vision combined with an uncanny ability to know exactly when to snap the shutter (on his little 35mm Leica film camera).

Bonus note: Did you also know that he has photographed quite a number of famous historical and cultural figures? E.g., Ghandi, Marilyn Monroe, Che Guevara, Coco Chanel, Salvador Dalí, Edith Piaf, Truman Capote, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, JFK, MLK… and more.

“Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare”, 1932: