childhood photographer biography

BIOGRAPHY ROBERT DOISNEAU – French photographer, Robert Doisneau rose to fame thanks to his photos of children, his school shots and of Parisian life from the 1930s until the end of the Trente Glorieuses.

Short biography of Robert Doisneau – Born in 1912 near Paris, Robert Doisneau trained as an engraver-lithographer at the Estienne school until 1929. He then worked as a calligrapher in a Parisian workshop. There he met the photographer Lucien Chauffard who introduced him to photography. From 1931, he followed the teachings of André Vigneau and became his assistant. For his first photographs, Doisneau was inspired by the realistic current of New Objectivity, which advocates a representation of reality without artifice. Around 1934, he married his childhood friend Pierrette Chaumaison, who shared his life until her death. At the same time, he was hired by the car manufacturer Renault, but was fired in 1939 for his lack of attendance. He begins a collaboration with the journal Point, created in 1936 by his friend Pierre Bretz. During the Second World War, Doisneau continued his activity as a freelance photographer and, thanks to his talents in calligraphy, manufactures false papers for French resistance fighters under German occupation.

Once the war was over, Robert Doisneau multiplied photo reports on various subjects: Parisian life, the suburbs, children, school … He joined the Group of XV, an association created in 1946 promoting the art of photography, which includes other famous photographers such as Jean-Philippe Charbonnier, Thérèse le Prat and Willy Ronis. He took nearly 450,000 photos throughout his life, which were sometimes published in reputable magazines such as Point, but also Vogue. It is possible for example to quote The Fondue Car (1944), The Kiss from the Town Hall (1950) and School Information (1956) among the most famous. He gained international fame in the post-war period. Several photographs are bought by foreign magazines like the American giant Life. In 1960, he organized an exhibition at the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in Chicago. He received numerous awards: the Kodak Prize in 1947, the Niepce Prize in 1956 and finally the National Grand Prize for Photography in 1983. He died in 1994 at the age of 81.

Today, Robert Doisneau is mainly recognized for his numerous black and white photographs of children and schoolchildren. The best-known were mostly taken during the Thirty Glorious Years. One of the reasons for their popularity is undoubtedly that Robert Doisneau immortalized children in their daily life which speaks to all of us. The school is a privileged place for the artist, for example for School Information (1956) and The sundial (sometimes called The clock), which allows the viewer to identify with the young subjects. Some situations provoke amusement, for example with students lined up in front of urinals in Pigeon pee (1964). While others make us feel nostalgia for a time full of recklessness and memories. Robert Doisneau’s photographs also convey different messages depending on the sensitivity. Indeed, where some see children having fun on the remains of an automobile destroyed by shells in The melted car (1944), others may interpret this scene as a critique of the war and the wish that the mistakes of the past did not happen again. Highlighting the school environment is finally a way for Doisneau to show the importance of the education of future generations, who will become the actors and citizens of the world of tomorrow.

Robert Doisneau’s career as a photographer has been particularly prolific. Near 450,000 shots could be listed. Having lived in the Paris region from his birth until his death, a large part of his photographs depict the everyday life in the French capital in all its forms. From agriculture to sport through religion and gastronomy, it is difficult to name one or more subjects that have not at one time or another been captured by the camera of the humanist artist. The Kiss from the Town Hall (1950), in which we see a couple kissing in the middle of the street in Paris, is probably one of Robert Doisneau’s best-known clichés. Published in the American magazine Life, he greatly contributed to the international fame of the photographer, to such an extent that he was the subject of legal disputes more than forty years later.

Robert Doisneau has at the same time allowed a real influence of French architecture and culture on a global scale: the Eiffel Tower, Parisian bistros, fashion, love and romanticism … He put forward places that are still very popular with tourists today, such as the Halles district. Finally, and although being particularly attached to his native country, Robert Doisneau has also traveled abroad a lot. He met the great photographers of the time such as André Kertész and immortalized the landscapes of countries other than France: mainly the United States and England.

April 14, 1912: Birth of Robert Doisneau

Robert Doisneau was born on April 14, 1912 in the south of the Paris region, more precisely in the Val-de-Marne in Gentilly. He is the only son of Gaston Doisneau and Sylvie Duval. Faced with the untimely death of his mother when he was only 8 years old, young Robert withdraws into himself. He was helped by his grandfather Louis Doisneau, whom he visited on numerous occasions in the village of Raizeux in the Yvelines. He retains a particular affection for this place, since he will live there for a time with his family. He also met Pierrette Chaumaison there, with whom he married twenty years later.

April 1, 1994: Death of Robert Doisneau

Robert Doisneau died on April 1, 1994 in Montrouge in the Hauts-de-Seine, probably of old age. He joined his wife Pierrette, who had died a few months earlier and suffered from disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. He leaves behind two daughters, Annette and Francine, born respectively in 1942 and 1947. They are at the origin of the creation of the Atelier Robert Doisneau, a structure listing all of their father’s photographs and ensuring the sustainability of his work. He is buried alongside his wife in Raizeux, the village which marked his childhood the most and which he considered “the most beautiful country in the world” according to his daughter Annette.