Figure 1.--This is French humanist photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson most famous photograph. This little French boy is so proud of himself. He has gone to the store by himself on an erand to bring home the wine for a family meal. Noticethe bottles are not labele. Families apparently provided the bottles and took them to wine shops to be filled up.

Humanist photography ( photographie humaniste) emerged in the post-World War II era. Its most prolific expression was in France. It was surely an expression of the horrors of the War and theJoie de vivrei of the survivors. Photography as a fine art form took on a different direction, influenced by Picaso and other modern artits. More practical and often less academically schooled individuals took on a different route. They saw need to capture the human condition and everyday life. We are essentially talking about a modern form of genre art. But there are limited examples of genre art because so much skill and time was need to produce these pieces. And they are limited to relatively small number of countries. Humanist photographs in contrast exist in countless numbers. Surely this what photography is best equipped to do. The humanists aspired to do so authenticity, with warmth or pathos, and always empathy. The movement involved capturing spontaneous, usually candid, and emotionally compelling every day images. This often involved street photography. There are two definition of the term. One is commercial photographers taking portraits on the streets around tourist or other high-traffic areas before many people had cameras. The other is documenting people in their everyday environment, especially public places. Actual streets are even an urban environment are not required. The only thing required for the most part is people. The term street is used because it is the most common of public places. This is of special interest to HBC because until the late-20century this is where children played and spent much of their time .. today no so much as children spend much of their time at home in front of a TV or computer screen. And of course there are safety concerns. But 20th century humanist photographers captured engaging moments from everyday life as part of the human connection. Some of the most important humanist photographers include: Édouard Boubat, Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Willy Ronis, and Sabine Weiss. As the youngest of the classic group, Weiss is sometimes called the last humanist. Their photographs were often taken on the streets of Paris. Many were charged with emotion and all captured fleeting moments of everyday life. Their body of work is a testimony to the resilience and beauty of the human condition. Of course humanist photographers were not limited to France, but the French humanists are the best known. Unfortunately because of potential misuse on the internet of candid street photography, there are laws against it in many countries.

Created: 3:42 PM 8/16/2025
Last updated: 3:42 PM 8/16/2025