Robert Doisneau

Robert Doisneau (1912–1994) was a French photographer whose work became one of the defining visual records of twentieth-century Paris and its suburbs. Trained as a lithographic engraver before turning to photography, Doisneau developed a deeply humanist approach centred on everyday life, chance encounters and fleeting gestures. Rather than seeking spectacle, he photographed streets, cafés, workers, children and performers with humour, tenderness and a subtle sense of theatre. Behind the apparent spontaneity of his images lies a precise understanding of composition and human behaviour.