Henri Cartier-Bresson in Abruzzo

A few years ago, I was given a present of Henri Cartier-Bresson: Europeans, a collection of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004). I was new to photography and having access to a collection of images by such a highly regarded photographer was fascinating. I’d be surprised if anyone who has a copy of this book doesn’t consider photography to be a true art form. Many of the photographs are of people, and in all of them I think he treats his subjects (many of them unaware of the camera) with utmost respect.

Its been a while since I looked though the photos in detail. But, as a result of finding a blog post on the Abruzzo town of Scanno, I revisited book. Sure enough, on pages 86,87 and 100, Scanno is featured and on page 81 we have L’Aquila.

I’d love to reproduce the photographs here, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have the rights to do that. So let me suggest the next best thing.  Go to the advanced search screen of Magnum Photos, enter Abruzzo as the keyword and Cartier-Bresson, Henri as the included photographer, search and enjoy!

Many of the resulting 27 images are of Scanno, taken in 1951. I have not visited the town, I plan to this year, and for that reason I’m not going to write about it, but instead direct you to the excellent article Skirting Scanno – a Henri Cartier-Bresson moment from the already mentioned Life In Abruzzo blog.

Scanno is in the L’Aquila province of Abruzzo, you’ll find it here.

Related posts:

1. Abruzzo Photo Exercise: 10 photos 5 minutes from home Here’s a little exercise I like to set myself whenever...
2. Pineto: Sun, Sea and Sand We’re in the middle of summer and I’ve not written...
3. Abruzzo in print Before I had the opportunity to spend significant time in...