If you love Paris, the period between the two World Wars, and/or black and white photography, you will enjoy leafing through this collection of photographs by Andre Kertesz.  As he states in an epigram, “I write with light/and the light of Paris/helped me express what I felt/and what I feel: J’aime Paris.”

Kertesz (1894-1985) was an Hungarian born photographer known for his ground-breaking compositions and the development of the photographic essay and is considered one of the seminal figures of 20th C photography.  After fighting with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in WWI, he emigrated to Paris in 1925 where he was part of the DADA and Cubist  movements.  He later emigrated to New York in 1936 to escape the Nazis, and his photographs were featured in leading magazines like Look, Life, and especially House and Garden.  He was featured in one man shows at the Art Institute in Chicago and MOMA and received many honors later in life including an honorary degree from Bard.

This book is a love letter to Paris of the 1920’s and 1930’s.  From the Eiffel Tower and Montmarte to little known and largely empty streets of Paris, Kertesz’s photographs show the city where Kertesz was most happy.

The photos are characterized by interesting angles and viewpoints, by both crowd scenes and isolated individuals, by fog and rain, and by the beautiful architecture and neighborhoods of Paris from cafes to bistros, from the Seine to the parks.  Spend a pleasant hour and leaf through this homage to one of the world’s great cities.