From Library Journal
Capa ranks among the century's most important photographers, yet this book is the first complete retrospective of his work. All the elements of fine photography?control of tones, composition, gathering light, and the nonintrusive presence of the camera?are found in Capa's work. Moreover, the photographer seemed to enjoy a special link to those he photographed, a characteristic that makes so many of his prints memorable and understandable to viewers. This book speaks of Capa's empathy and respect for his subjects, from strangers in the shadows of war to dear friends sharing joy. Capa had his finger on the camera's shutter at the perfect moment to capture a reality as cruel as a Loyalist militiaman taking a deadly bullet in the Spanish Civil War or as spirited as a children's snowball fight. Including a brief foreword by Henri Cartier-Bresson and a remembrance by Capa's brother, Cornell, this volume demonstrates Capa's artistic achievement with the full range of his images and the moods they capture in crisp reproductions. Highly recommended as a significant addition to any library collection.?David Bryant, New Canaan P.L., Ct.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
In September 1936, Capa earned the sobriquet, "the Greatest War Photographer in the World," that stuck to him ever after when he captured a just-shot Spanish civil warrior's dying fall--an image as familiar as any in photography's history. The young Hungarian exile understood that photographing war indelibly was less a matter of showing the fighting than of finding intimate moments affected by it. He continued finding such instants during warfare in Spain, China, Italy, France, Israel, and Vietnam, where in 1954 he was killed by a land mine. This selection of his best evokes a shock of recognition. Capa's photos have influenced our ingrained conception of the twentieth century's sad and violent second quarter. This is how 1930^-60 Europe and Asia look in the mind's eye. The album also shows that Capa appreciated everyday peacetime life and that he made famous friends: another of his best-known pictures shows old man Picasso at the beach, bearing an umbrella over young Francoise Gilot as she strides forward yet focusing not on her but on the camera lens. Ray Olson
Review
""Robert Capa: Photographs" reminds us that the man who more or less invented war photography was also a sensitive portraitist." --"New York" magazine
"A splid retrospective." --Herbert Kupferberg, "Parade "magazine
"In an almost novelistic fashion, the pictures--presented chronologically--tell as much about the photographer as they do about the times Capa was chronicling." --Margarett Loke," ARTnews"
"His coverage of the Spanish civil war established Capa's reputation as a peerless battlefield photojournalist... But he was also a man who loved making pictures of beautiful women, famous men and grand parties. Often overlooked when discussing the Capa legacy, those too, were his life's work. Both Capas--the raconteur of high society and the fearless witness to war--are evident in "Robert Capa: Photographs." The two sides of Capa's work may seem irreconcilable, but they're not. He was recording one world. His own." --Allison Adato, "Life m"agazine
""Robert Capa: Photographs reminds us that the man who more or less invented war photography was also a sensitive portraitist." --"New York magazine"A splid retrospective." --Herbert Kupferberg, "Parade magazine"In an almost novelistic fashion, the pictures--presented chronologically--tell as much about the photographer as they do about the times Capa was chronicling." --Margarett Loke," ARTnews"His coverage of the Spanish civil war established Capa's reputation as a peerless battlefield photojournalist... But he was also a man who loved making pictures of beautiful women, famous men and grand parties. Often overlooked when discussing the Capa legacy, those too, were his life's work. Both Capas--the raconteur of high society and the fearless witness to war--are evident in "Robert Capa: Photographs. The two sides of Capa's work may seem irreconcilable, but they're not. He was recording one world. His own." --Allison Adato, "Life magazine
From the Back Cover
Robert Capa: Photographs is the first true retrospective book of one of the century's greatest photographers. Drawing upon hundreds of previously unseen images, this collection reveals Capa as one of the great poets of the camera. Robert Capa demonstrated not only a passionate commitment to improving the human condition, but also an unfailing eye for graphic impact. Although his photographs remain the definitive visual records of such momentous events as the siege of Madrid, the bombing of Hankou, and the Allied landings on D-Day, many of his images have a timeless and universal quality that transcends the specifics of history. A Spanish soldier recoils at the impact of a bullet, the final instant of his life. In a scene of perfect joy, a group of Chinese children laugh at the sky as snow begins to fall. Four farm workers, hauling all the belongings they can manage, trudge grimly away from an apocalyptic backdrop of smoke and ruins: their war-devastated homes.
About the Author
Henri Cartier-Bresson began his career in photography in 1930. A pioneer of the documentary photography genre, he was one the founders, along with Robert Capa, of the pho- tography agency Magnum. He is considered one of the major artists of the twentieth century, and his work has appeared in hundreds of publications, museums, and galleries around the world.
Robert Capa was born in 1913 in Budapest. Driven from Hungary by political oppression, Capa was first recognized for photographing the Spanish Civil War. In 1938 he was in China recording the Japanese invasion; and during World War II he was in London, North Africa, and Italy, and then in France covering D-Day on Omaha Beach, the liberation of Paris, and the Battle of the Bulge. When the new nation of Israel was founded in 1948, he was there. Away from the battle site, Capa was surrounded throughout his life by such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, and Pablo Picasso. In 1954, on assignment for life magazine, Capa went to Vietnam, and was killed by stepping on a land mine.
