The magazine of the photo-essay
August 2018 back issue
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film maker
by Willy Ronis
Humanist photographer Willy Ronis’s most iconic images of Paris are beautifully
produced in Paris:Ronis.
Unparalleled in his ability to portray the Parisian joie de vivre, Willy Ronis captured
sheer delight on the faces he photographed, from the Parisian gamin running with an
oversized baguette to the cheerful Parisiennes behind the bakery counter and flower
market kiosk, and from the dancers in full swing at a summer festival to a gaggle of
children in a bumper car tangle. His images are iconic and varied, ranging from
lovers embracing in front of the Eiffel Tower to graceful monuments softened by a
gauzy fog to a determined factory worker protesting for her rights.
Parisian-born Ronis bought his first Rolleiflex camera in 1937 at the age of 27. He
trained his camera on the working-class neighborhoods of Belleville and
Ménilmontant, and strolled the streets of his beloved city, capturing the essence of
everyday life in Paris. He memoralized the urban landscape—a lamp-lit bridge or the
© Ministère de la Culture – Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / donation Willy Ronis
Victory parade for the Front Populaire, Rue Saint-Antoine, July 14, 1936
© Ministère de la Culture – Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais /
donation Willy Ronis
Shop steward Rose Zehner, during a strike at Citroën-Javel
© Ministère de la Culture – Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais /
donation Willy Ronis
An open-air dance at Maxe’s, Joinville-le-Pont
© Ministère de la Culture – Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais /
donation Willy Ronis
Self-portrait with flashbulbs
© Ministère de la Culture – Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais /
donation Willy Ronis
The little Parisian
© Ministère de la Culture – Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais /
donation Willy Ronis
Kids from Belleville beneath the staircase on Rue Vilin
leafy horse chestnut trees that border the Seine—and typical Parisians—in the metro, sunbathing on the Ile de la Cité, ice
skating in the park.
