Figure 1.--Here is 9 year old Jacques-Henri Lartigue as a boy with his mother and grandmother in the Bois de Boulogne, a Paris park (1905). Note that he is proudly sporting his camera. Itb looks like tghis was double exposure of some kind.

French photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue was born Courbevoie, near Paris (1894). He considered himself a painter, but today is best rembered as a spirited photograoher. And he began his photgrapic endevors as a very young boy. He grew up in a posperous Parisian family which could endulge his interests. Jacques when he was only 7-years old received a large-plate camera. It was not very portable, especially for a 7-year old. He had to stand on a stool to take a photograph (1901). Fortunately for for Jacques, Kodak in America released the very portable Kodak Brownie (1900). And Jacques receiuved the Brownie No. 2 (1901). This handheld camera Jacques could take with him where ever he went. His boyhood photographs were mostly candid image of his family, friends, and nanny. But he soon branched out and his prosperous family mean that as a teenager a much wider sphere of French life was opened to him and he took advantage of it. He was especilly interested in sport, incluing auotomile racing and experiments with aviation. While his automobile racing images are perhaps his most famous, his images of the first decade of aviation in France are notable. And throught most of the 20th century, Lartigue catured candid, joyful scenes of Frebch life. This included two world wars and the NAZI occupation (1940-44). His photographs are not always the technically best composed, but not other French photohrapher has suceeded in capturingv the joys of Frebnch life quite like Lartigue.

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Created: 11:57 PM 9/12/2024
Last updated: 4:45 AM 9/14/2024