Édouard Boubat (; 13 September 1923 – 30 June 1999) was a French

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

and art photographer.

Life and work

Boubat was born in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

, Paris. He studied

typography Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...

and

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface.

at the

École Estienne L'école Estienne is the traditional name of the l'École supérieure des arts et industries graphiques (ESAIG) (Graduate School of Arts and Printing Industry). It is located at 18, Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui in the 13th arrondissement of Pari ...

and worked for a printing company before becoming a photographer. In 1943, he was subjected to

service du travail obligatoire The ' ( en, Compulsory Work Service; STO) was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II. The STO was created under law ...

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

of French people in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, and witnessed some of the horrors of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He took his first photograph after the war in 1946 and was awarded the Kodak Prize the following year. He travelled internationally for the French magazine '' Réalités'', where his colleague was

Jean-Philippe Charbonnier Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (28 August 1921 – 28 May 2004) was a French photographer whose works typify the humanist impulse in that medium in his homeland of the period after World War II. Early life Jean-Philippe Charbonnier was born in Par ...

, and later worked as a freelance photographer. French poet

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist moveme ...

called him a "peace correspondent" as he was

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

, apolitical and photographed uplifting subjects. His son Bernard Boubat is also a photographer.

Notable awards

*1947 –

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

Prize *1971 –

David Octavius Hill Medal The David Octavius Hill Medal is a prize in photography established in 1955, by the Deutsche Fotografische Akademie. It is named in honor of the Scottish artist David Octavius Hill, famous for his Hill & Adamson calotypes, most of which were devel ...

*1984 – ''Grand Prix National de la Photographie'' *1988 – Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography

Gallery

File:Lella,_Edouard_Boubat,_Bretagne,_1947.jpg, ''Lella'' 1947. File:Remi_écoutant_la_mer,_Edouard_Boubat,_Paris,_1995.jpg, ''Remi'' 1995.

Exhibitions

Solo

* 2 November – 23 December 2006: ''Les photographes de Réalités: Édouard Boubat, Jean-Philippe Charbonnier, Jean-Louis Swiners''. Galerie Agathe Gaillard, Paris, France * 15 August – 1 October 2006: ''French masters: Edouard Boubat and Jean-Philippe Charbonnier''. Duncan Miller Gallery, Los Angeles, USA * 1983 Ambassade de France, New York (USA) * 1982 Lausanne, Switzerland. **Witkin Gallery, New York (USA) * 1980 Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris **Lausanne Switzerland * 1979 Fondation Nationale de la Photographie. Lyon, France. * 1978 Musée d'Art Moderne Carilo, Mexico **Musée N. Niépce, France **Chalon s/Saône, France **

Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established in ...

, London, UK *1976 Witkin Gallery, New York (USA) and travelling. *1975 Galerie du Château d'Eau, Toulouse, France *1973

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, Paris, France * 1971 ''India'', Galerie Rencontre, Paris * 1967

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet ("the Museum of Modern Art"), Stockholm, Sweden, is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened a new branch in Malmö in t ...

, Stockholm, Sweden * 22 November – 31 December 1954, ''Édouard Boubat'', Limelight Gallery, New York, USA

Group

* 1951 Galerie La Hune, Paris, France * 1949 Salon, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France

Publications

*''Edouard Boubat: Pauses'' (Bookking International, 1988). . *''Édouard Boubat'' (

Centre national de la photographie The Centre national de la photographie is a French association managed by the Ministry of Culture, dedicated to photography and contemporary art. In 2004 it merged with the "Patrimoine photographique" to create the association of the Galerie natio ...

, 1988). . *''Photographies 1950–1987''. (Éditions du Désastre, 1988). . *''It's a Wonderful Life'' (Editions Assouline, 1997). . *''Édouard Boubat: The Monograph''. (

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...

, 2004). . *''Édouard Boubat: A Gentle Eye'' (

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, 2004). .

References

External links

Édouard Boubat at Luminous Lint

Edouard Boubat and his Cat Photos
1923 births 1999 deaths French photographers Humanist photographers French World War II forced labourers {{France-photographer-stub