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China, 1958

Henri Cartier-Bresson

1958

photographic

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Contemporary

Dominant colour

China, 1958 is a 1958 photographic by Henri Cartier-Bresson, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Henri Cartier-Bresson
When & what style?: 1958
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This black-and-white photo shows a wide, empty plaza with a large building in the background. In the foreground, a group of people kneels in rows, holding rifles pointed upward. To the left, a man walks with a small child holding his hand. The rifles are stacked neatly, but the people holding them look tense. The plaza is vast, with only a few scattered figures in the distance. Next, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more of this photo.

About the artist

Artist

Henri Cartier-Bresson

This photographer captured fleeting moments in black and white. In "China, 1958," he framed a split second—an old man’s stride, a child’s reach—so precisely it still feels alive today. He worked in the mid-20th century,…

See the richer artist page