Willy Ronis by Willy Ronis: The Master Photographer’s Unpublished Albums

Willy Ronis curated and commentated on the iconic images featured in this beautiful volume that retraces his career and contributions to photography and photojournalism.

A key figure in twentieth-century photography, Willy Ronis conveyed the poetic reality of postwar Paris and Provence in iconic black-and-white photographs. Influenced by Alfred Stieglitz and Ansel Adams, and amicable with his contemporary Magnum photographers, Ronis was the first French photographer to contribute to Life magazine. In the 1950s, MoMA curator Edward Steichen featured Ronis--along with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, and Brassaï--in the groundbreaking exhibitions The Family of Man and Five French Photographers.

Throughout his life, this powerhouse of humanist photography kept meticulous records of his work, curating each era into albums, which are reproduced here for the first time. Timeless photographs of postwar France and its inhabitants are accompanied by the photographer’s original observations and comments, framing the images within their technical and historical context. Photography historian Matthieu Rivallin’s critical perspective adds nuance to the photographer’s notes, and the ensemble is a groundbreaking and definitive reference on the myriad aspects of the artists’ immense career and an essential volume for all photography aficionados.

Willy Ronis was a major photographer of the twentieth century, working with Brassaï, Robert Doisneau, and Ergy Landau. His photographs were published in Life, Vogue, and Time Magazine. He is known for his engaging photographs that captured the lives of the working-class neighborhoods of Paris after the Second World War, as well as for his more intimate portraits. His photographs have been featured in numerous international exhibitions and in 2005 the Paris city hall honored his work with a major retrospective exhibition. He is the recipient of many awards, including the Venice Biennale Gold Medal, the Grand Prix des Arts et Lettres for Photography, and the Prix Nadar. The Oxford Companion to the Photograph called him ＂the photographer of Paris par excellence.＂

Matthieu Rivallin has curated numerous exhibitions, including one dedicated to Willy Ronis. He is the author of several photography books and he manages the twentieth century photography archives at the Mediathèque de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (the Library of Architecture and Heritage).