Henri Cartier-Bresson et Le Monde

Henri Cartier-Bresson is the first French photographer to be published in Le Monde, the first to have a report on his exhibition accompanied by a photograph, the only one to be interviewed twice over three pages, and finally the only artist to be granted the headline (at the moment of his death, in 2004). Neither Picasso nor Matisse enjoyed such treatment. It is therefore a very special relation that unites the daily Parisian evening paper and Cartier-Bresson, the photographer who loved to say «I read the Monde, and the New York Times (…) because they have no photographs. I can find the photographs myself (…) ». Michel Guerrin, currently in charge of the Culture pages, has compiled an inventory of the main articles dedicated to him in over half a century, from 1955 to 2006. They include in particular the «historical» article by Yves Bourde in 1974 and the purple passages by Hervé Guibert, represent a fascinating biography and help define the creed of a man who used to say: «Painting is my obsession».

• Henri Cartier-Bresson et Le Monde by Michel Guerrin, Gallimard, 2008, 384 p., 25 €, ISBN : 978-2-07-012269-1