The sun was back in Torino on Tuesday October 11. High of 22C and a warm beautiful day. We had breakfast and did our laundry-- so nice having washing machines in all our Airbnbs this trip. We then headed out to our destination- CAMERA: Centro Italiano per la Fotografia which is an exhibition centre for both Italian and international photography. A retrospective of Robert Doisneau just opened today.
We walked by one of our favourite squares, Palazzo Carignano. Lots of folks out in the cafés today.
We stopped en route for lunch at Poormanger, which had a very nice menu. Its motto was "semplicemente diverso"- "simply different". We shared a gorgeous tomato gazpacho with olive oil and basil and couscous with vegetables. It was lovely lunching in the sun. No need for our jackets.
 |
| Alonso with our lunch |
 |
| Another view |
Further down the street was CAMERA, the photography museum.
 |
| CAMERA was in a large building with a church at the end of the street. |
The exhibit was called: La Storia, La Vita, L'Amore A Parigi in 130 Fotografie. The exhibit explores the work of Doisneau who, together with Henri-Cartier Bresson is considered one of the founding fathers of French humanist photography and street photojournalism. It was a fantastic exhibit-- lots of photos capturing daily life of the people of Paris and its suburbs. His style was a mix of curiosity and imagination. We had not seen many of these photographs before.
 |
| Poster for the show in the entrance |
 |
| A brief 2 minute video for the exhibit |
 |
| A phono of Doisneau at the entrance to the exhibit |
There was a wall with a chronology of Doisneau's life. He was born in 1912 in Gentilly, a suburb south of Paris. He spent his entire life there. He began his career by training as a lithographic engraver, which he abandoned in 1931 for an apprenticeship in the studio of photographer André Vigneau. He then worked for the advertising division of Renault for four years until 1939. He married Pierrette Chaumaison with whom he had two daughters. Doisneau then became an independent photographer, though his career was interrupted by WWII. During the Occupation, his primary concern is survival. However, he continued taking pictures during the Occupation and Liberation of Paris.
After the war, Doisneau embarked on a number of commissions in the fields of advertising, magazines and publishing. He also pursued personal projects that would become the subjects of numerous publications. His first publication was a work on La Banlieue de Paris (The Suburbs of Paris) with Blaise Cendrars, published in 1949.
He became friends with Jacques Prévert, Robert Giraud and the actor and cellist Maurice Baquet, with whom he orchestrated a large number of images. Beginning in 1946, his photos were distributed by the Rapho Agency. In 1983, Doisneau was awarded the Grand Prix National de la Photographie. In his studio in Montrouge, just south of Paris, he printed and archived his images for over 50 years leaving behind almost 450,000 negatives when he died in 1994. Today, his two daughters still work there, disseminating his photos.
 |
| Part of the chronology- Doisneau at first communion in Gentilly, 1924 |
 |
| Picture with Jacques Prévert , Paris 1972 |
 |
| Robert Doisneau Photographed by Henri Cartier-Bresson Paris, 1986 |
The photos selected for this exhibition were taken between the 1930s and the 1960s, with an emphasis on work during the postwar decades and his works in black and white. The photos were organized both chronologically and thematically.
Doisneau stated in an interview in 1976: The Photos that interest me, that I find successful, are those that don't come to a close, that don't tell the whole story, but instead remain open for other people to walk beside for a while, to continue as they wish: A stepping stone to a dream, in a sense.
There was a section of Portraits from 1942-1961.
 |
Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais 1949; Albert Camus at the Footlights, Paris 1957 (two pictures on the left)
André Malraux rehearsing Man's Fate in Dec. 1954 and
Pierre Brasseur in the Devil and the Good Lord, by Jean-Paul Sartre, Paris 1951 |
 |
| " I salute you, my street.", Jacques Prévert, rue Lhomond |
 |
| Picasso's Breads, Vallauris, 1952 |
 |
| Maurice Baquet in the Subway, Paris, 1958 |
 |
| Fernand Léger among his Paintings, Gif-sur-Yvette, 1954 |
 |
| Playing Chess with Savignac, Paris, 1950 |
Doisneau did a series on Concierges for Vogue magazine where he worked for from 1949-1951.
 |
| Concierges, Rue du Dragon |
 |
| Concierge with Eyeglasses, Paris 1945 |
Interior scenes often with humour:
 |
| A Sidelong Glance, Paris 1948 |
 |
| The Accordionist of Rue Mouffetard, Paris 1951 |
 |
| Demonstration, 28 May 1958, Paris |
 |
| Fox Terrier on the Pont des Arts, Paris 1953 |
 |
| Typist on the Quai du Vert Galand, Paris 1947 |
There were a few pictures taken during the Occupation.
 |
| Under the Occupation, Paris-- not dated |
 |
| Bicycle-drawn Taxi, Avenue de l'Opéra, Paris 1942 |
Doisneau was asked by a number of Renaissance fighters to take their picture as he was in the street with a camera. He usually doesn't like to do group shots, but he agreed to take the picture. It was one of his favourites and he thought one of his best.
 |
| French Resistance Fighters from Ménilmontant, Paris 1944 |
The World at Work: 1935-1950
 |
| Renault Assembly Line, Boulogne-Billancourt, 1945 |
There were also some pictures that were not classified:
Fashion and High Society: 1950- 1952.
Doisneau did some work for Vogue in the early 1950s after meeting Edmonde Charles-Roux a journalist at that publication. However he later said: "As for fashion-I can say so today- I didn't give a damn about it!"
 |
| Snowing in the Studio, Paris 1951 |
 |
| Three Tiaras at the Home of Comte Etienne de Beaumont, Paris 1950. |
Bistrots:
 |
| Music-loving Butchers, Paris 1953 |
 |
| Yves Montand and Juliette Greco (1949, 1950) |
A Certain Idea of Happiness: 1945-1961
 |
| The corridor with one strip curtain at the end |
 |
| Alonso with strip-curtain of La Petite Monique |
 |
| Alonso with The Kiss by City Hall strip-curtain |
 |
| Leaving CAMERA-- looking up the street from the other end |
 |
| Shutters open on a nice sunny day |
 |
| The two of us on a very bright, sunny day |
We walked back to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, where we had been yesterday.
 |
| View through a portico |
 |
| One side of the square in the sunshine |
 |
| The other side of the square |
 |
The entrance to Caffè Elena-- old sign for Carpano Vermuth (originated in Torino)
|
 |
| The patio where we had our drinks in the corner of the square |
We decided to have a Spritz Piemontese with white vermouth and Prosecco. Good choice.
 |
| Cocktail menu. We had a Spritz Piemontese. |
 |
| View into the square and the Po at the far end |
 |
| Very refreshing Spritz which comes with olives, popcorn and spicy peas |
 |
| Alonso with our drinks |
 |
| View from our table into the square |
 |
| An old streetcar passing by |
We walked back to the apartment on Via Po, which has porticos its entire length. There were a number of book kiosks (like the bouquinistes (book sellers) in Paris).
We returned to buy some more chocolates at Baratti & Milano, which have been in business since 1858. We peered into their caffè with the beautiful chandeliers and decor.
 |
| The inside of Baratti & Milano |
 |
The bar
|
 |
| Chocolates to buy at the entrance |
Our last stop was the Royal Church of St. Lorenzo (La Real Chiesa di San Lorenzo), a Baroque-style church adjacent to the Royal Palace of Torino in Piazza Castello. The church was designed and built by Guarino Guarini during 1668-1687.
 |
| Outside of the entrance to the church |
 |
| Beautiful Baroque interior with a large dome |
 |
| Another view |
We walked back to the apartment where Alonso made us a chicken dinner. Tomorrow, Wednesday October 12 will be our last full day in Torino. We are very glad we are here for nine days as there is no shortage of things to do and places to go.
Comments
Post a Comment