Robert Doisneau, one of France’s great 20th-century photographers, illuminated the humanity of Parisians struggling to resume their everyday lives in the aftermath of World War II. Naturally shy, he preferred taking photos of objects rather than people. Eventually, he turned this to his advantage, using the invisibility of the photographer to uncover the poetry of the streets, his lifelong subject.
Doisneau, who died in 1994 but whose work continues to be celebrated internationally, captured the occupation and liberation of Paris. Perhaps his most famous picture, Le Baiser de l’Hôtel de Ville (The Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville), 1950, at left, distilled the romance of the city in the post-war era. Doisneau’s freelance photography appeared in Life and Vogue magazines.
“Paris After the War” is on display in the Dubois Gallery on the fourth floor of Maginnes Hall until May 24. To see images from the Lehigh University Art Galleries exhibit, go to www.luag.org.
