Jacques-Henri Lartigue

Jacques Henri Lartigue, ( born June 13, 1894 in Courbevoie, France, † September 12, 1986 in Nice, France ) was a French photographer and painter who was only discovered in the 1960s.

Life

As a young boy he received a camera from his father. His photographs stand out thanks to its unconcern as an amateur photographer with great liveliness. Lartigue is among the first who realized snapshots. His fascination was car races such as the Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France ( ACF). Here Lartigue succeeded in 1912, a photo that is a metaphor for the pace of the technological age now. Obviously moved Lartigue with the camera as the racing car shot past. The elliptical deformation of the rear wheels will be explained by the horizontal plane shutter. He gave the image unnoticed for decades until in 1963 the then director of the Museum of Modern Art, John Szarkowski met. In a spontaneous show the photo was published for the first time. It also appeared in Life magazine as part of a portfolio. As was reported in the same issue also on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the book was selling like hot cakes.