My first reaction to Robert's photos was joy. As soon as I saw his pictures I felt so happy and I enjoyed looking through all his pictures, especially the ones that captured life in a café. I spend the majority of my time in cafés doing homework or working on other projects so I really connected with those. I loved seeing essentially what we all look like from someone else's point of view. Another favorite was the pictures of society life. You got a glimpse of what it was like to go to those parties and events during the late 1940s and early 1950s. I think pictures taken around that time are some of the best out there. The dresses that the women wore to the parties were beautiful and elegant and the body language from the people makes you wonder what was going on the time the picture was taken and I absolutely love that. Robert also shows the simplicity of life through his pictures of cafés. He's showing that it doesn't take a lot to be happy even if it's just for a moment. .
Robert Doisneau was born on April 14th, 1912 in Paris, France. He studied at Éole Estienne where he graduated in 1929 with diplomas in engraving and lithography. Many people including André Kertész, Eugène Atget, and Henri Cartier Bresson influenced his works. He married a women named Pierrette née Chaumaison; together they had two children named Annette and Francine. Annette had also worked as an assistant from 1979 until her father's death. In Robert's life he also won many awards like the Balzac Prize in 1986, the Grand Prix National de la Photography in 1938, the Niépce Prize in 1956, and lastly the Kodak Prize in 1947. Another interesting thing Doisneau did in his life was when he became part of the resistance during World War II. He was drafted into the French army as not only a soldier, but a photographer as well. In 1945 Robert used his lettering artistry and engraving skills to forge passports and ID papers for the French Resistance.
