The Europeans
Henri Cartier-Bresson
As with The Decisive Moment in 2024, The Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson reissues The Europeans by Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004). Although in a smaller, more manageable and accessible format as the original edition.
The museum at Eleusis and the bay of Salamis. The smoke-stacks are in the style of the late nineteenth century. The middle of the twentieth century contributed its own touch, invisible in the picture, but clearly audible at the time when it was taken: the noise of jets at the neighboring airfield.
Originally published by Verve in 1955, three years after the resounding success of The Decisive Moment. The Europeans brings together photographs taken by Cartier-Bresson between 1950 and 1955 across ten European countries. Mainly on commission for a magazine. And so the book can be seen as an outflow of Cartier-Bresson’s work for magazines. The images in the book are organized by country.
Seminary students on an outing near Burgos.
With the original edition the publishers tried as much as possible to repeat the success of The Decisive Moment. In a sense The Europeans is a continuation of The Decisive Moment. Same publishers, same printer and the same number of copies. The format is also the same. Each book has an introduction by the photographer. And they both feature a cover by a distinguished painter. This time one designed by Joan Miró was used.
The sign hanging from the young man's neck reads: I am looking for work, any kind. In 1953, there were about 9 million refugees and 1,5 million unemployed in Western Germany.
The images in The Europeans form an unique visual testimony of post-war Europe in the midst of reconstruction. In the book Henri Cartier-Bresson does not aim to provide an exhaustive overview. But rather composes a vibrant portrait of the inhabitants of a continent undergoing profound change.
The Europeans
Photographer: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Published in 1955 by Simon and Schuster in collaboration with Editions Verve
New compact edition published in 2025 by Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Hardcover, 17 x 23 cm, 156 pages, 114 photographs
Essay by Clément Chéroux
Mentioned in The Photobook: A History. Volume 1. Edited by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger