Robert Doisneau: Through the Lens

Some will remember the imagery left by Le Baiser de l'hôtel de ville, an iconic image of Paris exported internationally. Others will see the radical evolution of the urban landscape that constitutes their living environment, while some will notice a rare ability to convey with sensitivity and modesty a polyphony of atmospheres and life experiences. The photographer has vouched for gazes, lines, and movements that drew a time that is now almost impossible for us to imagine — fragments of existence, precious, raw, vibrant, wisely classified and preserved in cardboard cases arranged on the shelves of a workshop in Montrouge where his "tribe" and he spent the majority of their lives. Although it's always more comfortable to remember media images that nurture a consensual ideal, we can see here how Robert Doisneau doesn't necessarily favour the beautiful, taking an interest in detail and, above all, leaving almost no subject or object untouched. In the end, Clémentine Deroudille's eye is drawn to his bursts of laughter and curiosity, which appear here as much a driving force behind his work as a part of the everyday life of those around him.
 

Yulia Kaiava
Tënk's editorial assistant