Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)
Castelo de São Jorge, Lisboa, Portugal, 1955
Gelatin silver print, printed no later than 1959; flush-mounted to masonite, credited in ink and with a 'Das Menschliche Antlitz Europas' exhibition label affixed to the reverse.
12 7/8 x 19 1/4 in. (32.7 x 48.9 cm.)

Footnotes:
Exhibited
Das Menschliche Antlitz Europas, International Salon of Photography, Munich, 18 December 1959- 31 January 1960

Note
This oversized print was produced for inclusion in the 1959 exhibition Das Menschliche Antlitz Europas (The Human Face of Europe), organized by Dr. Tas Toth in Munich. Conceived as both a European response to Edward Steichen's groundbreaking 1955 exhibition The Family of Man, and simultaneously an effort to underline themes of shared humanity in the wake of the second World War, Das Menschliche Antlitz Europas was on view from December 1959 through January 1960.

Internationally recognized photographers were shown alongside relatively unknown practitioners, in an effort by Dr. Toth to level professional and social hierarchies, creating an environment of 'human oneness'. In an introductory text written by French author André Maurois, he affirms, '[Those who made this beautiful exhibition possible] wanted to give expression to something grand – something which no language can express, and which is perhaps nothing more than the European attitude to life. I am convinced that they have succeeded.'

This large-format exhibition print by Henri Cartier-Bresson was shown alongside work by his contemporaries, including Edward Steichen, Robert Doisneau, Edouard Boubat, Brassaï, Sabine Weiss, Elliott Erwitt, Robert Capa, and Cornell Capa. In 2017, another Cartier-Bresson print included in the 1959 exhibition was sold at Phillips New York for $32,500.

This gelatin silver print, trimmed to the image and with a surface texture, is in generally very good condition. Upon close examination under raking light, the following are visible: scattered tiny deposits of original retouching; 3 faint linear impressions along the body of the cannon; a small area of scuffing in the upper right; and a nearly imperceptible 8-inch horizontal impression at the lower left, none of which appears to break the emulsion. There is a tiny brown deposit of indeterminate nature at the right edge in the center. There is a one-inch abrasion in the lower left corner with a few small resultant losses. At the center of the upper edge, the print has been pushed back from the mount. The edges are gently worn, and all four corners are slightly bumped.

On the reverse, 'H. C.' is written in pencil and 'H. Cartier-Bresson' is written in ink, both in unidentified hands. There are 2 diagonal adhesive remnants at the center of the mount, possibly from a previous wall mount. There is a small, white rectangular adhesive label stamped '534' in the lower right corner.