The France 24 website has a lovely slideshow tribute to the last, truly great, mid- century French photographer, Willy Ronis.
I have always loved his work for it’s romantic but humanist perspective. The beautiful, evocative portrait of his wife, the Leftist artist Marie-Anne Lansiaux, at the sink – Nu Provençal (1949) is deservedly one of the most famous images in photography.
We used to distribute Rapho’s images at Network and I could never quite get over the thrill of being able to look into that extraordinary archive.
The last word to Ronis though who said that ‘to transform chaos into harmony is the constant quest of the seekers of images’.
3 replies on “Willy Ronis”
Thanks for the link. My father often said take a camera with you every day and Ronis work reminds me to do that. It’s the everyday scenes which in years to come with be all the more special.
Thanks for your comment as a professional. I am not a photgrapher but I have a tiny Willy Ronis collection which connects me instantly to memories of France, from being a student in Provence to many sunny and rainy days in Paris.
What wonderful work. I shall go to bed with his book and ponder .. will The State give a damn about any of our pictures if we made the gift?