Magnum Photos Blog

From the Archive 

Paris Magnum 

December 11, 2014 
by Magnum Photographers 
Text by Éric Hazan
This homage to Paris by the great Magnum photographers reveals a multifaceted portrait of the city’s effervescent character in 270 photographs.
By documenting the everyday workings of the city, Magnum’s photographers capture the essence of Parisian life. Their photographs show the city as it lives and breathes—from fashion shows to underground jazz clubs, from the bustling metro to outdoor cafés, and from the Art Deco Fouquet’s hotel to the working class Goutte d’Or neighborhood. Even celebrities appear as ordinary citizens encountered in their own milieu—from former President François Mitterrand to novelist Marguerite Duras, singer Edith Piaf to actress Catherine Deneuve, fashion designer Christian Dior to artist Giacometti. The city’s rich history and traditions are inherent in images depicting the bravery of an unknown female resistance fighter, the exuberant joy upon the Liberation of Paris, the eroticism of burlesque dancers, or the excitement of the final lap of the Tour de France. Crusty baguettes, buttery escargot, glasses of wine, and abundant butcher cases attest to the gastronomic pleasures of the city, and all of the monuments—the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame—appear like cast members at curtain call. This book celebrates the myriad aspects of Paris in a volume as captivating for the lifelong Parisian as it is for the armchair traveler.

Format: Hardcover
Size: 240 x 310 cm
Pages: 304
Publisher: Flammarion (French version), Rizzoli International (English version), La Fabrica (Spanish version), Contrasto (Italien version), 2014
e book version: Flammarion (French and English, distributed by Rizzoli in North and Latin America, Flammarion in France and Thames & Hudson in the rest of the world), La Fabrica books (Spanish) and Contrasto (Italian)

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