WHEN ROBERT DOISNEAU PHOTOGRAPHED ARTISANS

Abstract

A leading figure in humanist photography, Robert Doisneau liked to say that he photographed “the ordinary gestures of ordinary people in ordinary situations.” He rose to fame after World War II for his mischievous yet nostalgic images of workers in caps and undershirts, concierges in their lodges, working-class interiors, suburban bistros, and street kids. He was drawn to working-class environments and the gestures and lives of the “marginalized,” which at the time included artisans.