8 January, 2026
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a convinced European. While he traveled all over the world, he also explored Europe extensively. After the Second World War, the continent was a vast field of ruins haunted by rupture and desolation. In the context of the Cold War, the construction of the European Union was one of the major geopolitical issues of the time. After producing numerous photographic series for magazine press in Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, and France, Cartier-Bresson wanted to bring them together in a single volume. He did not intend to create a travel book about these countries, as many existed at the time, but rather a portrait of the people who inhabit them. The book was indeed not titled Europe, but The Europeans.