DAY 333

FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS

Robert Doisneau (1912–1994)

THE FRENCH KISS

Robert Doisneau’s interest in people and the excitement of everyday life lead him to the streets and cafés of Paris, where he photographed an eclectic mix of people from all walks of life and social classes. In a career that spanned more than 60 years, his images of humanity and reportage captured the pulse of the times. His most famous image, Kiss by the Hotel de Ville (Le baiser de l’hôtel de ville), was taken on the fly, captured in one of many serendipitous moments he witnessed.

Doisneau was born in Gentilly, a suburb of Paris, and came from a creative family of craftsmen and artisans. He studied lithography in his teens before working in advertising at Atelier Ullman. He began work as a photographer in the 1930s, and became particularly interested in working with people when he was staff photographer for Renault in 1934.¹ His career came to a halt with the German occupation of Paris during World War II, but he continued to put his photographic and lithographic talents to use forging passports and documents for the French Resistance.

After the end of the war, he worked with the Rapho agency, and was sent on assignment throughout France, and sold his work internationally to publications, such as LIFE and Vogue. He achieved further international recognition after his work appeared in a group show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1951. —GC