Customer Reviews

Henri Cartier-Bresson in India

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently purchased this book, as well as Cartier-Bresson's books about Paris and Mexico, and as much as I like the other two books, I think that this is definitely the best of the three books. Whereas the subjects of the other two books are of more of an artistic or sociological nature, the subjects of this book are primarily political in nature. Cartier-Bresson was in India in 1947 (as well as numerous other occasions) to photograph the turbulent times of the country. Some pictures are of Gandhi the day before his death, others are of his body on the funeral pyre. These images are spectacular. There are plenty of images of day to day life in India ( the most current being circa 1966) and these are quite nice - I especially like the photograph of the saris (which are about 5 yards long) drying in the sun. This is such a beautiful book- and it is much cheaper than a trip to India!

I bought this book several years ago when viewing a HCB exhibition on India in London, England. It is a beautiful collection of photos that capture the richness of the Indian subcontinent. As a woman of Indian heritage, I am proud of the way that HCB showed the many facets of this country and captured some of the most important times in this country's history. Definitely buy this book if you like photojournalism or if you want to see a glimpse of this magnificent nation.

If you own other Cartier-Bresson's books such as "The Europeans" and "A Propos de Paris" then you will not be disappointed in the subject content. Bresson maintains his masterly eye while photographing the Indian subcontinent.

The images are well reproduced with one exception - for some reason the editor/publisher saw fit to span some images across two pages rather than reproduce each image on its own page (there are 4 images in this book which suffer such a fate). I'm sure this was an attempt to keep the images large for some sort of dramatic effect but it has only served to ruin these images because the binding breaks up and obscures part of the image. That said, it should not be an excuse for not purchasing this book - I still rate it as 5 stars.

Again this is a set of beautiful photographs by Cartier-Bresson. There are some superb pictures. My favorite is number 64 titled, "The Maharaja of Baroda distributing sugar balls to the poor...". What a contrast of emotions on the faces! Specially the look on the young boy who albeit begging still has a somnolent remnant of pride and defiance.

I was hoping to see more from the 1947 through 1956 era which was the beginning of free India. A beautiful book.

This book is the photographic record of Henri Cartier-Bresson's six extended visits to India. In addition to some rare pictures of difficult moments of Indian history, important personalities who defined the political scene, he also captures the quintessence of everyday Indian life. His lens conveys his understanding and deep regard for this country.

This book also includes a very interesting article on Hinduism by Yves Vequaud because, as the author says, "...many tourists who visit India today are still hidebound by the monotheism of their own religions and are apparently unreceptive to the philosophy which underlies a world very different from our own..."

This book would an interesting addition to any collection. But to think that you would understand India or become an armchair traveler by buying this book would be a mistake, since most pictures are from 1948, 1966 and 1950 (There are a few from 1947, 1980 and 1986). India has undergone significant changes in the past 15 years. A more appropriate book for armchair travelers would be "Spectacular India".

I bought this book as a gift for a friend of mine who is a newspaper photographer and he just loved it. Includes all the most well known and breath taking photos from Cartier-Bresson's time in India. A great gift for anyone who loves photojournalism or India.

What a great book. Mr. Bresson is one of the great photographers of our time. The Images are emotional and brilliant.

I wish it was available in hard cover.

the cover photo is a classic and the ghandi images just before his assasination are truly an historical treasure but the rest of the book should have been edited better by the publisher