Spain, 1933
Gelatin silver print
19.4 x 28.7 cm (7-5/8 x 11-5/16 in.)
84.XM.1008.9

A decade after Modotti (pl. 167,187,) emigrated to Mexico with Edward Weston (related to-->>167,187), Cartier-Bresson traveled there. In Mexico in 1934, Cartier- Bresson met Alvarez Bravo and Paul Strand (related to-->>180) and provided a living example of what Surrealism in photography could be. While Strand ig- nored Surrealism, Alvarez Bravo embraced it. Cartier-Bresson had been to Spain, where this photograph was made the year before he went to Mexico. It shares with Alvarez Bravo's Good Reputation (related to-->>189) a fascination with the unex- pected: we do not expect to see a person in public in such a profound and vulner- able state, the left hand tucked between the legs and the right hand covering the eyes to suggest total emotional and mental withdrawal from the world around. For Surrealists, photographs were full of meanings that resulted from the inter- section of unexpected happenings, and the artist's objective was to stimulate the emotions with the element of surprise.
(HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON related to-->> Japanese)

related: web site -->>
• PHOTOLOGY - Henri Cartier - Bresson
• MAGNUMPHOTOS