Images à la Sauvette

Images à la Sauvette (The Decisive Moment in its American version) is one of the greatest photography books ever published. It brings together the photographic work of the first twenty years of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s career. Images à la Sauvette was published in 1952 by Verve, with an original cover by Matisse. It was the fruit of the combined labours of the photographer, the famous art critic and publisher Tériade, and a painter at the height of his career. The American version, published the same year by Simon and Schuster, unknowingly coined the phrase “decisive moment”. A resounding success in the art world, considered a “bible for photographers” in the words of photographer Robert Capa, the book reveals the duality inherent in Cartier-Bresson’s work, between intimate interpretation and documentary observation. It remains an essential reference for many photographers.

The original work, now out of print, has become a collector’s item. The Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson wanted to make this book of historical photography available again in a new format, smaller and more practical than the original, at a less prohibitive price. This new edition retains all the elements present in the 1952 original, and is supplemented by a study of the conditions under which the book was produced, its critical success and the issues behind the choice of title, written by Clément Chéroux, Director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.