A new edition of one of the most important and genre-defining photobooks of the twentieth
century. The Decisive Moment (Images à la Sauvette in French) is one of the greatest
photography books ever published. It brings together photographic material from the first
twenty years of Henri Cartier-Bresson's career. Images à la Sauvette was published in 1952
by Verve with an original cover by Matisse. It was the result of a collaboration between the
photographer the famous art critic and publisher Tériade and the painter at the peak of his
career. The American version published the same year by Simon and Schuster was the first to
introduce the now-famous expression "decisive moment". The book which reveals the intrinsic
duality of Henri Cartier-Bresson's work the combination of intimate interpretation with
documentary observation received tremendous critical acclaim within the art world and is
considered a "bible for photographers" in the words of photographer Robert Capa. It remains an
essential reference for photographers to this day. The original book now out of print has
become a collector's item. The Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson sought to make this classic
photography book accessible again in a smaller and practical format at an affordable price.
The latest print features the same material as the original 1952 edition and is accompanied by
a comprehensive study of the book's making its enduring popularity and the considerations
behind its title written by Clément Chéroux Director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.
