Lot #10: HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON - Allees du Prado, Marseilles - Original vintage photogravure

 

Artist: Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908 - 2004).
Title: "Allees du Prado, Marseilles".
Medium: Original vintage photogravure.
Date: Composed 1932. Printed 1953.
Dimensions: Image size: 13 9/16 x 9 1/8 in. (344 x 232 mm).
Lot Note(s): Stamped with the photographer's name, verso. Edition unknown, presumed small. High-grade archival paper. Printed to the edge of the sheet. Fine, quality printing. Very good to fine condition; affixed to very thin and supple archival acid-free support sheet, not mount/board. Comment(s): “This is a classic and famous street photograph by Cartier-Bresson taken in Marseille. The photograph is intriguing. The man has a great bowler cap on, an ominous black cape, an umbrella by his side, and what appears to be a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. He is facing toward Cartier-Bresson but looking off to the side. It was almost as if Cartier-Bresson caught this man by surprise and he turned around to see what was going on. In the background you have the alley of leafless trees going all the way straight down. The whole photo feels a bit dark, mysterious, and slightly sinister” (courtesy Lorenzo Rabotoff). Image copyright © Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. [25077-3-600]