The exhibition presents 72 posthumous photographic prints by Gisèle Freund, some previously unseen, including portraits, landscapes, village views and markets, as well as scenes of daily life, shot, essentially, between 1941 and 1954.
These reveal the importance of Latin America in the trajectory of the renowned photographer whose iconic portraits immortalized writers of the 20th century.
They reveal her consistent interest in, not only portraits of people "I have never ceased to try to understand what lies behind a face", but, also "in human beings and that which surrounds them", in their environment and their condition.
Gisèle Freund first traveled to Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil at the beginning of 1941 and until the early fifties, and it is there that she lived her most powerful human and esthetic experiences. Argentina and Mexico had a particularly profound effect on her life and on her work.
The images on exhibit allow the public to fully appreciate the three facets of Gisèle Freund: the photographer, the sociologist and the journalist.
In 1991, she avowed: "I thought that photography was a wonderful means for people to know each other... I believed in this utopia: in the knowledge of others, their differences, as a language of peace among men. My mission was, I thought to participate in peace in the world through photography."
Until January 7th, 2023
La Maison de l’Amérique latine is a priviledged hosting space for shows and gatherings that promotes latin culture in Paris.