Edouard Boubat (1923 - 1999)

The essence of Boubat\u2019s spirit is summed up in his own words: \u201cJust as love at first sight erases everything and creates a kind of void, so I must confess that, when I take a picture, I have no desire, no intention, no memory. What I am photographing has taken control of me, it is a leap in the dark. It\u2019s over in a second. This vacancy allows the fleeting instant to break through, the instant in which everything is plunged into one unique light.\u201d (From Edouard Boubat: Pauses, 1983)

Boubat\u2019s work has been exhibited throughout the world including the United States, Europe, and Mexico. He has been awarded several professional awards such as the National Photographic Prize of France and The Hasselblad Foundation Prize both in 1988.

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The poet Jacques Prévert called him a \u201cpeace photographer,\u201d for Boubat was the incarnation of the French humanist, member of a movement without ideology or militants whose urge to capture the simple beauty of everyday life distinguishes their work. His first image, of a tiny girl wearing an outfit of fallen leaves in the Luxembourg gardens, was made in 1946 and became a classic. A photoengraver by trade until 1950, his personal work, especially that featuring his muse Lella, indicated unusual talent.

Working under the inspired editorship of Bertie Gilou for the innovative magazine \u201cRealities\u201d 1950-70, Boubat flourished as a globetrotting journalist, but for a magazine that concerned itself more with science, industry, and economic development than with war or conflict. The role suited his temperament, for it allowed him to make small groups of images around a loosely defined subject, rather than detailed picture stories. His dictum was \u201cTo photograph is to express gratitude.\u201d His work dealt with simple domestic and personal events, or work, trade, and industry. His \u201cpersonal\u201d photography produced a charming body of images, where the nude, children, cats, and his own family figure extensively.