Henri Cartier-Bresson: Mexican Notebooks 1934-1964 [Hardcover]

Henri Cartier-Bresson (Photographer), Michelle Beaver (Translator), Carlos Fuentes (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 1996

This collection brings together photographs taken on two separate visits Cartier-Bresson made to Mexico—the first in 1934, just as he was embarking on his photographic career, and the second some thirty years later.

The dramatic pictures record with brutal accuracy the panorama of everyday life—crowded markets; stark, dusty landscapes; an execution wall—a unique record that includes some of the most famous and powerful images by this great photographer. 53 duotone photos

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

About the Author

The author of more than a dozen novels and story collections, Carlos Fuentes is Mexico's most celebrated novelist and critic. He has received numerous honors and awards throughout his lifetime, including the Miguel de Cervantes Prize and the Latin Literary Prize. Included among his books are Terra Nostra, Where the Air Is Clear, and Distant Relations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 84 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (April 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 050054199X
• ISBN-13: 978-0500541999
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 - August 3, 2004) is perhaps the greatest photographer of the twentieth century. In a career spanning over sixty years, he has used his camera as an impassive and neutral third eye to capture the vagaries of human behaviour and to produce some of the most memorable and compelling photographs ever published.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mexico uncovered, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Henri Cartier-Bresson: Mexican Notebooks 1934-1964 (Hardcover)

There is a consistant light which runs through Cartier-Bresson's work. It is the late afternoon light or the early morning glow, that enters his leica. We see it in the streets, behind the waitress in the Mexican bar as she leans unknowingly towards Cartier-Bresson's lens. It's surrounded by this light that Cartier-Bresson feels most at home, even in Mexico. Mexican notebooks is full of all Cartier-Bresson's hallmarks; real people in real situations. Circumstance and the click of his shutter fixes them in their descisive moment. This is a collection no photojournalist should be without.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an honest and delicate look at mexico, October 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Henri Cartier-Bresson: Mexican Notebooks 1934-1964 (Hardcover)

this is a very touching and intimate look at everyday life, but Cartier-Brenson's experienced eye has also captured the powerful light that alludes to heat, the mood of poverty, and the history that pervades this country. At different points this volume is disturbing, humorous, spiritual, and abstract. a masterpiece.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, but limited, June 27, 2002

By 

Kasey M. Moctezuma "parisgirl" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Henri Cartier-Bresson: Mexican Notebooks 1934-1964 (Hardcover)

This collection of photographs from the author's two visits to Mexico are quite striking. Cartier-Bresson knows his craft well, and yet I feel a slight disappointment in the book, as I had hoped that his range of subject matter would be a little more varied, and perhaps show a few more pictures of the countryside. This collection of photos is nice, but consists mostly of shots of a sociological nature, from the poor classes of Mexican society. I understand that this is Cartier-Bresson's personal photo essay, but perhaps he could have widened his scope of Mexico to have included a wider array of subject matter. I do like the pictures, there just should have been more of a variance of them. If you like Cartier-Bresson, his book of India is simply fantastic.