From Brassaï to William Klein: a luxurious homage to the world's most iconic subway
At over 300 pages and with around 250 images, this delightful volume looks at the close relationship between photography and the heyday of the Paris metro, covering over a century of photographic documents. The major figures of photography all snapped the Paris metro, from the humanists--Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï, Boubat, Izis, Kollar, Ronis and more--to photojournalists such as Robert Capa, William Klein and Van der Keuken, in addition to the scores of photojournalists who passed through the city.
In 1900, as the first metro rolled from west to east across Paris, from Porte Maillot to Porte de Vincennes, photography had already been around for half a century. Turn-of-the-century technological advances had created smaller, lighter cameras--the first Kodaks--which introduced the practice to a wider market. As Parisians fell in love with their new mode of transport, photography became a more widespread pastime.
All genres and photographic practices are represented in this overview, from photojournalism to photo stories, street photography, fashion photography, architectural photography and industrial photography. The resulting volume is a magnificent and charming hybrid: a history of the fascinating development of the Paris metro--long a cultural symbol of France, Art Nouveau and urban technological innovation--in all its diversity, alongside a history of photography in Paris from the early 20th century to the present.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Paris Metro Photo.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Parisien Images
A key element of the Parisian landscape and a part of its architectural heritage, the Metro is also a gateway, a meeting point and a stage for all the actors of the urban theatre. No wonder this unique landscape has been an inspiration for French as well as the world’s greatest photographers.
Paris Match
Corinne Thorillon
A moving book, evoking a Paris that one would have loved to know, one that seems to be lost for good.
Le Nouvel Observateur
The grand epic of the Paris Metro as told in photography.
Le Monde Diplomatique
Carlos Pardo
Nostalgia rises to a crescendo in the lovely Paris Metro Photo… in images by the great photographers who immortalized the Metro and its passengers.
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Paris Metro Photo is here at last! From rare nineteenth-century photographs documenting the construction of the city's earliest subway tunnels to current-day photojournalism and street photography in and around the famous Paris metro, this remarkable collection features emblematic work by brilliant unknowns and Modern and contemporary masters alike. Dark, glamorous, romantic and humorous work by photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï, Raymond Depardon, Joel Meyerowitz and Martin Parr make this exquisitely produced 408-page volume a pure pleasure from end(paper) to end(paper). The only book of its kind, Paris Metro Photo includes a superbly curated selection of journalistic, fashion, architectural and industrial work, in addition to documentary, art and street photography. Featured here is "Near the Galeries Lafayette," 1928, by André Kertész. continue to blog
Reproduced from Actes Sud's stunning 408-page collection of Paris Metro photographs spanning from the late-1800s through the present day, this early 1930s photograph by Brassaï may carry one of the most evocative titles of any "subway" photograph, ever. In Brassaï's words, it reads, "At 1.1AM the 'last train out,' the impecunious nightbird's last resort, enters the Palais-Royal station." What a pleasure it is to read this book. continue to blog
"After traveling through these 300-some stations, after journeying on these different lines, after embracing these 116 years of history (of Paris, of the Metro and of photography), one can't help but be struck by the extraordinary fertility and inexhaustible richness of a subject that has become invisible, so familiar is it to Parisians. We need the eye of the photographer to remind us of its diversity and singularity, its graphic elegance and geometric rigor, its shadows and lights, its perpetual movement, reflections, joys, sufferings, tragedies, its violence too, sometimes. Each period reveals a thousand different aspects, reflects its era, possesses its specificities, while at the same time foretelling certain trends and following others. From 1900 to 2016, shared traits come to light. Universal, they travel through the century, conveying a constant interest in certain aspects of the photographic, beyond schools, tendencies or fashions." – Julien Faure-Conorton, Paris Metro Photo. Featured image, "Moulin Rouge and Métro," is by Christian Sappa, 1995. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 10.25 x 10.25 in. / 348 pgs / 250 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $55.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $77 GBP £48.00 ISBN: 9782330065911 PUBLISHER: Actes Sud AVAILABLE: 2/28/2017 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: WORLD excl UK FR BE CH
From Brassaï to William Klein: a luxurious homage to the world's most iconic subway
At over 300 pages and with around 250 images, this delightful volume looks at the close relationship between photography and the heyday of the Paris metro, covering over a century of photographic documents. The major figures of photography all snapped the Paris metro, from the humanists--Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï, Boubat, Izis, Kollar, Ronis and more--to photojournalists such as Robert Capa, William Klein and Van der Keuken, in addition to the scores of photojournalists who passed through the city.
In 1900, as the first metro rolled from west to east across Paris, from Porte Maillot to Porte de Vincennes, photography had already been around for half a century. Turn-of-the-century technological advances had created smaller, lighter cameras--the first Kodaks--which introduced the practice to a wider market. As Parisians fell in love with their new mode of transport, photography became a more widespread pastime.
All genres and photographic practices are represented in this overview, from photojournalism to photo stories, street photography, fashion photography, architectural photography and industrial photography. The resulting volume is a magnificent and charming hybrid: a history of the fascinating development of the Paris metro--long a cultural symbol of France, Art Nouveau and urban technological innovation--in all its diversity, alongside a history of photography in Paris from the early 20th century to the present.
