Jean-Claude Gautrand

gorgeous edition by Taschen of a fantastic photographer. it's a selection of his work from various books; you'll still want the books themselves. but these are large, crisp renditions of a surprisingly formal photographer who made art, not just records, with his camera. in which light and shadow, fog, pattern and formal line, had weight and character, and something to say. at the same time, Brassai painted the ordinary life of the city, including the underground; the subjects are in show more collusion with the camera, looking boldly out into the future with complete self-possession and a modernity of spirit. here nothing is forbidden, or even framed as exotic, the transgressive taking pride of place beside historic facades and character studies filmed on the stairs, ephemera of the night on the iconic streets of the eternal city. show less

The underlying photography is fabulous; from whimsical to pointed, Doisneau managed to capture a lot of Paris street life. Taschen's ICONS series does a reasonable job of printing photographs while avoiding the costs of the high-end art books. Though this doesn't contain one of my favorite of his photographs (the couple dancing in the bar or nightclub), it's still recommended if you're a fan of black & white street photography.

Interesting biography with an overview of Robert Doisneau's marvellous pictures.

Discreta fattura per questo volume dedicato a uno dei fotografi più rappresentativi della Francia del secondo dopoguerra, insieme a Cartier-Bresson, Brassai e soprattutto Doisneau, il cui sguardo è molto vicino - anche se più ironico - a quello di Ronis.