On 25 November 1948, Henri Cartier-Bresson was commissioned by Life magazine to shoot a story on the “last days of Beijing” before the arrival of the Maoist troops. Having completed a trip for two weeks, he went on to stay for 10 months, mainly in the Shanghai area, witnessing the fall of the Nationalist-held city of Nanjing. He was forced to stay in Communist Shanghai for four months following this, leaving China a few days before the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1, 1949.
This long stay in China proved to be a seminal moment in the history of photojournalism: the reportage series from which this image comes was made at the beginning of the Magnum Photos agency, which Henri Cartier-Bresson had co-founded in New York in 1947. The collective brought a new, less event-based, more poetic and detached style, its images attentive as much to the people as to their balance of composition. A great many of these photos remain among the most famous in photography (such as “Gold Rush in Shanghai”). One of the repercussions of “China 1948-1949” was that, from the fifties onwards, Henri Cartier-Bresson became a major benchmark in “new” photojournalism and the renaissance of photography in general. The books The Decisive Moment (Verve, 1952) and D’une Chine à l’autre (Delpire, 1954), prefaced by Jean-Paul Sartre, confirmed this supremacy.
Specification
Shipping
Please note that all orders are subject to any applicable local duties and taxes imposed by the destination country based on where the item is being shipped from.
Where possible these charges will be calculated and applied at the checkout and are the responsibility of the purchaser.
Prints:All prints are shipped flat, separately from other items in your order.
Framed Prints:Framed prints will ship packed in bubble wrap and a sturdy box, separately from other items in your order.Please allow an extra three weeks for delivery of all framed items.
Posters:All posters are shipped rolled in a tube, separately from other items in your order.
Framed Posters: Framed posters will ship carefully packed in bubble wrap and a sturdy box, separately from other items in your order.
Please allow an extra three weeks for delivery of all framed items.
Kindly be aware that this item will be shipped from the United States and is subject to any applicable duties and taxes imposed by the destination country. These charges will be calculated and applied at the checkout and are the responsibility of the purchaser.
