  About the Artwork
  
  
  Henri Cartier-Bresson looked to the theater of life in the streets, where he waited for the right arrangement of figures and other uncanny details to portray a unique, unexpected moment. His philosophy was influenced by progressive ideas found in the artistic circles of Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. Before taking up photography, Cartier-Bresson studied painting briefly, learned to observe life closely, and found inspiration in the imaginative musings of surrealist artists and writers who were fascinated by the unconscious mind and altered perceptions of reality.
  
  
  Title
  Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1932, printed 1970s
  
  Artist
  Henri Cartier-Bresson
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1908-2004
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Gelatin silver print
  
  
  Dimensions
  Image: 14 1/8 × 9 5/8 inches (35.9 × 24.4 cm)
  Sheet: 15 7/8 × 11 7/8 inches (40.3 × 30.2 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Photographs
  
  
  Department
  Prints, Drawings &amp; Photographs
  
  
  Credit
  Museum Purchase, Forum for Prints, Drawings and Photographs Purchase Fund in honor of Michelle Andonian
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2013.45
  
  
  Copyright
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